ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many single payments were made in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such payments were monitored; and in how many cases reductions were made.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The number of farmers who received the Single Payment (SPS) in England in respect of each scheme year is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Farmers 
			  SPS Scheme year  Number 
			 2006 106,979 
			 2007 104,589 
			 2008 104,844 
		
	
	Latest figures show that, as at 23 February 2010 over 98,000 farmers have received payment for the 2009 scheme year, the payment window for which closes on the 30 June.
	There are a number of farmers who have not received a payment because their claim is still undergoing the necessary validation checks. Some of these claims may result in no payment being due to the claimant once eligibility checks have been carried out.
	All claims undergo validation as part of the Rural Payment Agency's regular processes and in addition a minimum of 5 per cent. are inspected, physically or remotely, as required by the EU. For cross compliance purposes, each of the four Competent Control Authorities inspect at least 1 per cent. of farmers receiving payments that are conditional on meeting the cross compliance requirements for which they have responsibility. RPA uses existing cattle and sheep inspection regimes to partly satisfy this obligation.
	The number of SPS claims which have been reduced is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Reductions 
			  SPS Scheme year  Number 
			 2006 12,921 
			 2007 13,719 
			 2008 7,748 
		
	
	This includes a very substantial number of minor over-declarations of areas as well as more significant breaches of the scheme rules where we have to apply sanctions.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at which locations the Single Payment Scheme is administered; how many people administer the scheme at each such location; and whether he has any proposals to reduce the number of  (a) locations and  (b) staff.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) currently operates from six main offices and there are no plans to reduce that number. RPA reviews, and will continue to review, its operations and resources regularly to ensure customer service is delivered effectively and efficiently. It is anticipated that RPA will reduce the number of staff employed at each office during the 2010-11 year.
	Claims under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) are currently processed at RPA's offices in Exeter, Northallerton, Newcastle, Workington and Carlisle. Plans have recently been announced to transfer SPS processing from Newcastle to the Workington, Carlisle and Northallerton offices.
	Staff at RPA's Reading office no longer process SPS claims but are involved in different aspects of administering the scheme.
	At the end of January 2010 the number of full-time equivalent staff involved in administering the Single Payment Scheme is:
	
		
			  Staff 
			  Location  Number 
			 Reading 147.51 
			 Exeter 201.85 
			 Northallerton 385.67 
			 Newcastle 232.89 
			 Workington 244.03 
			 Carlisle 259.53 
			 Total 1,471.48 
			  Note: These figures do not include Inspectorate or Finance staff. 
		
	
	RPA operates a flexible resourcing model and staff reductions are usually achieved through the reductions of temporary and fixed term appointments with regular consultation taking place with people and trade unions on any planned staff reductions.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dogs have been seized under the provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Figures for the number of dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 are not collected centrally.

Departmental Paper

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) suppliers and  (b) brands of (i) paper and (ii) paper products his Department uses; and what his Department's policy is on the procurement of those materials.

Dan Norris: From information held centrally the Department's contracted suppliers for (i) and (ii) are The Paper Company and Banner Business Supplies Ltd.
	From information held centrally the only brands for (i) and (ii) that could be identified are 100 per cent. recycled (Post Consumer Waste) Evolve Office and Evolve Business A4 80gsm copier paper.
	In the financial year 2008-9 Core DEFRA purchased a total of 45,124 reams of white A4 80gsm copier paper at an average purchase price of £2.09 excluding VAT.
	DEFRA's procurement policy requires use of recycled paper and paper products that meet the Quick Wins targets set by the Government in October 2003. The only exceptions to these standards would be where recycled paper or recycled products are not available for a specific process e.g. security paper. DEFRA is giving active consideration to achieving the 100 per cent. target for all paper it buys except in cases of specific process need.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households in England had  (a) black sack and  (b) wheeled containers for residual waste in each year since 2000.

Dan Norris: The following table shows the number of dwellings in England that received a black bag or wheeled bin collection for residual waste from 2005-06 to 2008-09.
	
		
			  N umber of dwellings 
			   Black sacks ()  Wheeled bins 
			 2008-09 2,928,662 14,893,442 
			 2007-08 3,235,010 14,322,766 
			 2006-07 3,581,016 13,611,652 
			 2005-06 3,548,163 12,702,631 
			  Source: WasteDataFlow 
		
	
	For the years 2000-01 to 2003-04 the only data available shows the percentage of dwellings in England that received black bag or wheeled bin collection. For each local authority, all of its households were classified using the method of containment that was provided to more than 50 per cent. of households in that authority, hence these figures are subject to some uncertainty. The dwelling stock data for England for those years is provided.
	
		
			   P ercentage of dwellings  
			   Black sacks  Wheeled bins  Dwelling stock (31 March of financial year) 
			 2003-04 23 58 21,636,000 
			 2002-03 25 55 21,481,000 
			 2001-02 21 52 21,337,000 
			 2000-01 26 51 21,207,000 
			  Sources: Municipal Waste Management Survey, Department for Communities and Local Government website (Table 109) 
		
	
	Data for 2004-05 is not available due to the introduction that year of WasteDataFlow and there only being a 50 per cent. response rate from local authorities.

Local Government: Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what datasets not in the National Indicator Set  (a) his Department and  (b) the Environment Agency regularly collects from local authorities.

Dan Norris: I refer the hon. Member for Peterborough to the answer given in response to the same question that he asked on 4 February 2010,  Official Report, column 452W.

Members: Correspondence

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to reply to the letters of 20 November 2009 and 22 January 2010 from the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 March 2010
	Unfortunately we can find no record of having received the right hon. Member's letter of 20 November 2009.
	A reply to her letter of 22 January 2010 is being prepared, and will be sent shortly. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Rural Payments Agency: Location

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at which locations the Rural Payments Agency has had offices in each year since 2005; and how many staff the Agency employed at each such office in each such year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent staff the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has directly employed in each of its locations since 2005. Numbers reported are as at 31 March in each financial year and are in line with the agency's 'Annual Civil Service Employment Survey' return to the Office for National Statistics which is published as part of the annual Civil Service Statistics report.
	
		
			  Location  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  RPA main offices  
			 Carlisle 353.51 401.78 399.74 395.57 393.76 
			 Exeter 429.78 311.25 415.41 440.68 383.38 
			 Newcastle 476.32 459.49 517.44 405.80 451.03 
			 Northallerton 432.89 360.59 484.09 477.80 506.63 
			 Reading 721.81 639.90 637.34 578.74 566.04 
			 Workington 447.31 526.15 765.14 691.52 631.52 
			 RPA outstations 490.89 278.61 370.45 356.84 336.53 
			 Total 3,352.51 2,977.77 3,589.61 3,346.95 3,268.89 
		
	
	These figures include part-time and full-time employees of the agency and do not include agency staff and contractors.
	The outstations are generally shared premises with DEFRA and/or other Government Departments and are located across the United Kingdom. The number of outstations is currently 48 but has varied from 33 and 56 between 2005 and 2009 with the merger of the Horticultural Market Inspectorate into RPA in April 2006.

Rural Payments Agency: Location

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he has any proposals to reduce the number of  (a) Rural Payments Agency offices and  (b) staff employed at each such office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) currently operates from six main offices and there are no plans to reduce that number.
	RPA reviews, and will continue to review, its operations and resources regularly to ensure customer service is delivered effectively and efficiently. It is anticipated that RPA will reduce the number of staff employed at each office during the 2010-11 year.
	Plans have recently been announced to transfer SPS processing from Newcastle to the offices at Northallerton, Carlisle and Workington.
	RPA operates a flexible resourcing model and staff reductions are usually achieved through the reductions of temporary and fixed term appointments with regular consultation taking place with people and Trade Unions on any planned staff reductions.

Waste Disposal: EU Action

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department had with the European Commission on proposals to establish an EU waste implementation agency.

Dan Norris: The European Commission invited member states, industry stakeholders and non-governmental organisations to attend informal workshops on the possibility of establishing a Waste Implementation Agency on 2 April and 14 September 2009.
	DEFRA officials attended both workshops. The Commission, via consultants, also invited member states to respond to an informal questionnaire on the feasibility of establishing such an Agency. The UK responded to that questionnaire in April 2009.

Waste Improvement Network: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has given to the Waste Improvement Network in each year since the Network's inception; and how much it plans to contribute in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

Dan Norris: Communities and Local Government (CLG) and DEFRA have funded the Waste Improvement Network (WIN) as detailed in the table over a five-year period:
	
		
			   Funding Source  £ 
			 2006-07 CLG (through Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships funding - RIEP) 89,700 
			 2007-08 DEFRA (direct grant) 100,000 
			 2008-09 DEFRA (direct grant) 85,000 
			 2009-10 85% DEFRA (direct grant), 15% CLG (through RIEP funding) 100,000 
			 2010-11 85% DEFRA (direct grant), 15% CLG (through RIEP funding) 100,000 
		
	
	No budget has been set for 2011-12.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) participated in Earth Hour 2009 by asking the management in each of its buildings to take every possible step to ensure that no unnecessary lighting was left on. This is our aim at all times.
	The NIO have appointed a Green Champion who intends to issue a similar message for this year's Earth Hour event which takes place on 27 March 2010 at 8.30 pm.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of improving digital coverage in Northern Ireland before the digital switchover; and from what budget that cost will be met.

Ben Bradshaw: As set out in the recently published Digital Britain White Paper, the Government recognise that building out a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) infrastructure which meets the needs of broadcasters, multiplex operators and listeners, including improving the quality of the signal, will require additional investment. However, the Digital Radio Upgrade programme, alongside the proposals on co-location and licence-renewals, will offer significant cost-savings for commercial broadcasters, some of which must support investment in improving coverage.
	In areas where the BBC's need to deliver universal access is not matched by the economic realities of the local commercial market, the BBC will need to bear a significant portion of the costs. The full cost cannot be left to the BBC alone. Where possible, the BBC and national commercial multiplex operators should work together to ensure that any new transmitters benefit both BBC and commercial multiplexes. Partnerships between the BBC and commercial local multiplex operators will be even more important at a local DAB level.
	We will work with the BBC, transmission providers and Ofcom to agree a plan for the extension and improvement of local DAB coverage, and where the cost would most appropriately fall.

Digital Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of households in Northern Ireland with access to  (a) national DAB services from the BBC and  (b) commercial DAB services provided at (i) national and (ii) local level;

Ben Bradshaw: DAB coverage is principally measured by population rather than geographic area. Approximately 90 per cent. of the UK population currently have some access to DAB services on at least one multiplex.
	DAB coverage in Northern Ireland is estimated at around 87 per cent. of the population. Listeners in Northern Ireland can access up to 23 DAB stations, including the 11 national BBC stations plus BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle, four national commercial stations (Classic FM, talkSPORT, BFBS and Amazing Radio), and six local commercial stations.
	In Northern Ireland, the BBC national multiplex was extended in April 2009, with a new transmitter installed at Armagh, adding coverage for an estimated 80,000 people, improving reception for around 200,000 more in the area. The other four transmitter sites in Northern Ireland are at Divis, Brougher Mountain, Limavady and Sheriff's Mountain in Derry/Londonderry.

Digital Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to expand digital capacity in Northern Ireland to allow stations currently available on analogue to provide digital services before the digital switchover.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government have tabled an amendment to the draft Digital Economy Bill which would allow the existing national commercial multiplex to extend its coverage into Northern Ireland. This would double the capacity available for digital commercial services in Northern Ireland.

Digital Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he has made an estimate of the number of local commercial radio stations in Northern Ireland without a digital migration pathway.

Ben Bradshaw: No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the radio provisions set out in the draft Digital Economy Bill on local commercial stations remaining on FM after the digital radio switchover. However, my Department is in regular dialogue with the industry with the specific purpose of ensuring that local radio can continue to thrive on FM after the digital radio switchover.

Listed Events Review

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from Ofcom in respect of the David Davies Review of Listed Events.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer  1 March  2010
	The Government's statutory consultation on Free-to-Air Listed Events has been extended until 19 March. A response from Ofcom has not as yet been received. Subject to any issues relating to confidentiality, responses to the consultation will be published on the Department's website in due course.

Listed Events Review

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2010,  Official Report, column 664W, on sports: television, what mechanisms will be used to resolve differences of opinion over the market value of listed events.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The David Davies review of listed events acknowledged the potential impact of listing on the market value of the broadcasting rights to an event. The Government's statutory consultation invites sporting bodies to submit evidence of such impact. Where credible evidence is provided, I will take it into account in assessing the overall economic impact on the sport in the event of a particular event being listed.

Olympic Games 2012: Culture

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budget is for the Cultural Olympiad.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The Major Projects and the UK-wide cultural festival of the Cultural Olympiad provide opportunities across the UK to celebrate the best of British culture. Facilitated by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, projects are delivered and funded in partnership with a range of public and private partners for example the Olympic Lottery Distributor, national Arts Councils and the Legacy Trust UK.
	Approximately £72 million has been invested in funding and facilitating the Cultural Olympiad's Major Projects (three of which have been launched already) and the UK wide cultural festival. In addition to this funding, nearly 150 self-funded cultural projects have already been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark.

Public Libraries

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what timetable he has set for the proposed ending of the statutory requirement on local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.

Margaret Hodge: There are no plans to end the statutory requirement on local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. It is this statutory basis which has protected and sustained the vital role of libraries in our communities.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members: Expenses

Greg Hands: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was paid to Detica as part of the investigation into the leaking of hon. Members' expenses files in 2009.

Nick Harvey: No payment has been made to date for a specific piece of work in connection with the internal inquiry into the unauthorised disclosure of information on Members' allowances.

Parliament: Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many annunciator screens have been replaced for each reason in the last 12 months; and at what cost those screens were replaced.

Nick Harvey: It is not possible to identify the number in House of Commons areas but 32 faulty television sets carrying the annunciator have been replaced across the estate, including House of Lords areas, in the last 12 months, the House of Commons share of the cost being some £5,250.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games: Canada

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much the Government Olympic Executive spent on travel for  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 1 March 2010
	GOE has not yet received all the invoices for officials' costs.
	Details of ministerial travel costing over £500 are published annually and include the cost, destination and purpose of the trip. It also provides information on the number of officials who accompany Ministers, and their costs are included in this return. The most recent list was published in July 2009 and the details of attendance at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games will be included in the 2010 return.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's officials were classified as working in  (a) England and  (b) Scotland in each of the last three years; how many are so classified in 2010 to date; and how much his Department spent on staff salaries in each quarter of 2009.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not classify staff as working in England or Scotland. The Office has staff in London and Edinburgh, some of whom travel regularly between London and Scotland as business needs demand. Scotland Office Annual Reports, which are available on our website, provide staffing information. Expenditure on staff salaries is not available in the form requested.

TRANSPORT

A12: Safety

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has to  (a) upgrade,  (b) improve safety and  (c) relieve congestion on the A12 between its junction with the M25 and Witham; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: Following the then Secretary of State for Transport's announcement in November 2008 that the Department for Transport would invest up to £60 million in introducing new traffic management measures to improve safety, reduce delays and tackle congestion along 54 miles of the A12, the Highways Agency have begun to implement a programme of schemes to do this.
	The Department for Transport has recently commissioned consultants to undertake the London to Haven ports national networks study. This is to understand and identify measures to address the issues on the strategic routes between London and the Haven Ports, including the A12.

Aviation: Public Lavatories

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will make it a legal requirement for commercial passenger airlines to provide free lavatory facilities for passengers on all international flights using UK airports.

Paul Clark: There is no international requirement for airlines to provide lavatory facilities for passengers. Airlines do however provide these facilities for free. We are not aware of any airlines who are not currently doing this.
	Therefore we see no reason for regulatory intervention at present.

Bus Services: Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department has spent on national concessionary bus travel for pensioners since the scheme's introduction in  (a) Chorley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England.

Sadiq Khan: From April 2008, the Department for Transport has provided additional special grant funding to local authorities to cover the extra cost of providing the extension to the concession; which now guarantees free off-peak local bus travel across England to all eligible older and disabled residents:
	 (a) £275,041 in 2008-09 and £281,528 in 2009-10 to Chorley borough council;
	 (b) A total of £5,608,371 in 2008-09 and £5,740,644 in 2009-10 to all of the travel concession authorities (TCAs) in the County of Lancashire (which includes Blackburn with Darwen Council borough council and Blackpool council);
	 (c) A total of £212 million in 2008-09 and £217 million in 2009-10 to the whole of England.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government continues to provide the bulk of concessionary travel funding to local authorities through formula grant. Before 1 April 2008, funding for the statutory minimum bus concession was provided exclusively through the formula grant system.
	The Department for Transport did however provide £31 million of grant to England in 2007-08 for the cost of producing and issuing the new England-wide bus passes to all those eligible, of which a total of £1,121,352 went to the TCAs of Lancashire; this includes Chorley's allocation of £69,004.

Bus Services: Greater Manchester

Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the contribution which will be made from the public purse to the Greater Manchester Cross City Bus Travel scheme in the next 12 months.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 1 March 2010
	Officials are currently assessing the business case and a decision on whether to grant initial funding approval will be made in due course.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Nigel Evans: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has to introduce a facility for payment of tolls by credit or debit card at the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport is committed to improving the levels of service experienced by users of the Dartford crossing.
	In April 2009, the Department published its initial analysis of the current and possible future capacity constraints at the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing. On the basis of the findings and conclusions of the analysis, we announced further work to investigate what can be done in the short to medium term to improve the level of service provided by the existing crossing. This includes looking into ways to increase efficiency through the use of new technology.
	The introduction of payment by credit or debit cards could be considered if it were demonstrated that this would be both cost effective and would not adversely impact on transaction times.

Driving Under Influence: Accidents

Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of road deaths in each local authority area involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Paul Clark: The information requested is not available by local authority area.
	However, further information about alcohol-related accidents can be found in the Drink drive articles, in 'Reported Road Casualties Great Britain', at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/

East Coast Railway Line

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many fewer train services will run on the East Coast Mainline to and from  (a) Retford and London and  (b) Retford and Leeds in the next timetable period compared to current service levels; and how many more train services will run to and from London and Leeds over the same periods.

Chris Mole: The Government have not specified, and does not expect, any changes to the current East Coast Main Line train services at Retford to take place for the next timetable period, commencing in May 2010. The rail industry is developing a new East Coast Main Line timetable for introduction in May 2011.

EC Transport Policy

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many other nations shared the UK position at the meeting of EU Transport Ministers on 12 February 2010 in A Coruña, Spain that the European Commission action plan on urban mobility should not lead to further legislation; and if he will make it his policy that UK cities and regions will retain the freedom to implement locally relevant solutions.

Sadiq Khan: A significant number of member states shared the UK position by supporting the action plan but making clear that it should not lead to any new legislation and that the principle of subsidiarity should be respected. Twelve other Ministers explicitly made this point during their interventions.
	It is Government policy that cities and regions should have the freedom to implement locally relevant solutions.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many vehicles were impounded for unpaid vehicle excise duty in each of the last three years.

Paul Clark: The following table shows the number of vehicles impounded for unpaid vehicle excise duty in the United Kingdom for each of the last three years.
	
		
			   Number of vehicles impounded 
			 2007 73,798 
			 2008 63,059 
			 2009 56,604 
			 Total 193,461

Metronet

Don Touhig: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the performance of Metronet against its objectives since its transfer to Transport for London; and what recent discussions his Department has had over its long-term future;
	(2)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the performance of Tube Lines against its objectives.

Sadiq Khan: When the London Underground public private partnership (PPP) was established in 2003, performance measurements were put in place to enable London Underground to assess the performance of Metronet and Tube Lines. The performance reports are available on Transport for London's (TfL) website. My officials meet regularly with TfL, London Underground and Tube Lines to discuss a range of issues, including performance.
	My written ministerial statement of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, column 28W, set out new contracting and scrutiny arrangements for the ex-Metronet investment programme. I expect members of the new TfL independent advisory panel to be appointed shortly from a shortlist agreed with the Secretary of State.

Parking: Disabled

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what mechanism is available to enable disabled people to challenge service providers who do not meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 in respect of the adequacy of the provision of parking spaces reserved for use by people with disabilities.

Sadiq Khan: Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 enables disabled people to challenge service providers to improve the services they offer to disabled people. Disabled people who think they may have been discriminated against can contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission for information on what they need to do.

Railways: Overcrowding

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what progress has been made on reducing levels of overcrowding on the passenger rail service between Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport and National Express East Anglia entered into a Deed of Amendment to the National Express East Anglia Franchise Agreement on 1 April 2009. As part of this agreement, from 14 December 2009, nine services a day between Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street have been extended by four carriages, providing essential new capacity during the morning and evening peaks on the Great Eastern Mainline.
	In addition to this, additional and lengthened Great Eastern Mainline services are due to be introduced in December 2010 and May 2011. The precise calling pattern for these services is due to be finalised between National Express East Anglia and Network Rail in mid-March 2010.

Railways: Rugby

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will encourage train operating companies to increase the provision of rail services between Rugby and Scotland and the North West of England; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The existing West Coast franchise is due to end in March 2012. Consultation on the detail of the next West Coast franchise will commence 15 to 18 months beforehand. Train operating companies and stakeholders are free to come forward with proposals.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assistance the Government are giving to  (a) Essex county council and  (b) other local authorities to repair potholes and damage to road surfaces following the severe weather in the last two winters; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has published guidance on its Emergency Capital Highway Maintenance Funding Scheme. Authorities, including Essex county council, may submit a claim for emergency funding to repair damage to their roads which they consider was caused by the recent severe weather. The Department will carefully consider claims that are received.

Stagecoach Group: Judicial Review

David Cameron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the status is of the judicial review in relation to Stagecoach and concessionary bus fares.

Sadiq Khan: The major issues relating to the judicial reviews by bus operators in the Stagecoach and Go-Ahead Groups, concerning the concessionary bus travel scheme, were heard at a preliminary hearing in the High Court from 17-20 November 2009. The court's judgment was handed down on 16 February 2010. The judge declined the operators' request for various declarations that would have fundamentally changed the reimbursement arrangements for concessionary travel.
	There were also a number of more technical issues that were included in the original applications for judicial review by Stagecoach and Go-Ahead that were not considered at the November hearing. We are waiting to hear whether the operators decide to pursue these issues in the light of the judgment.
	The High Court declined permission for the operators to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
	The Secretary of State conceded prior to the hearing that the appeal determinations in 2007-08 should not have specified payment of a fixed amount to the operator in advance of the financial year end. These appeals will be re-determined in due course.

Tube Lines

Don Touhig: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the Mayor of London on the future role of Tube Lines in the maintenance, renewal and upgrading of the London Underground network.

Sadiq Khan: Departmental officials have had no discussions with the Mayor of London on the future role of Tube Lines. Ministers have regular meetings with the Mayor at which a wide range of transport matters are discussed.

Vehicles: Registration

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many drivers disputed a claim by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency that they had not submitted a statutory off-road notification certificate in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Clark: Information relating to how many drivers disputed a claim by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency that they had not submitted a statutory off-road notification is not held.

Vehicles: Registration

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many vehicles built before 1 January 1973 there were registered in the UK in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2003 and  (c) 2009.

Paul Clark: The following table gives the number of vehicles (rounded to the nearest hundred vehicles) licensed in Great Britain on 31 December 1997, 2003 and 2008 which were manufactured before 1 January 1973.
	
		
			  A s at 31 December  each year  Known to be manufactured before 1  January 19 73 
			 1997 523,500 
			 2003 493,800 
			 2008 473,100 
		
	
	There are a number of vehicles known to be used before their date of first registration in Great Britain whose date of manufacture is unknown. At 31 December 2008 there were 51,000 such vehicles. It is likely that the large majority of these are modern imported vehicles, but a small proportion may have been manufactured before 1973.
	Data are not yet available for vehicles licensed on 31 December 2009.
	The Department does not hold data on vehicles licensed in Northern Ireland.

TREASURY

Child Benefit: Glasgow

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents and guardians in Glasgow North East constituency have received child benefit since 2004.

Stephen Timms: Information on the number of households benefiting from child benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, from 2004 to 2007 is published in the HMRC publication "Child Benefit Statistics. Geographical Analyses August 2007", available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug07.pdf
	A breakdown of this information by parents and guardians is not available, as HMRC does not hold this information.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has classified community infrastructure levy as a form of taxation.

Stephen Timms: The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) will decide on the classification of the community infrastructure levy (CIL) in line with European statistical guidance. The ONS will consider the classification of the CIL once regulations to implement CIL are approved by Parliament.

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury supported the World Wide Fund for Nature's 'Earth Hour' initiative in 2009, and this year will also be encouraging staff to switch off non-essential electrical equipment and lights on 27 March.

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2010,  Official Report, column 563W, on departmental pay, how many and what proportion of staff of his Department received both an annual performance bonus and an in-year bonus in 2008-09; what the largest combined bonus payment to an individual was; what proportion of staff received no bonus; and who was responsible for awarding such bonuses.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Non-consolidated awards are paid in two circumstances. First, performance awards are those linked to the annual staff appraisal system. Directorates are responsible for setting up performance review teams to award non-consolidated awards as part of the appraisal process.
	Secondly, special bonuses are those paid to recognise exceptional performance for specific contributions or pieces of work during the year or situations outside the normal expectations of the post. Directorates are also responsible for the award of special bonus awards.
	In 2008-09, 15 per cent. of full-time equivalent staff in post (191 individuals) were paid both a performance award and a special bonus, with the largest combined bonus payment to an Individual being £14,000, with 39 per cent. of staff in post receiving neither a performance award nor a special bonus.
	The Permanent Secretary is responsible for awarding bonuses, with the exception of his own, which is the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The numbers of thefts from the Department recorded in the last two calendar years are four in 2008 and six in 2009.

Empty Property

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition of the term  (a) actual and  (b) vacant is used for the purposes of property returns for the e-PIMS database; and what proportion of central Government property is recorded on that database.

Ian Pearson: The definitions of the terms vacant and actual are only used in the context of vacant space recorded on e-PIMS, Space that is vacant remains the responsibility of the owning department. Actual vacant space refers to space that is currently available, as opposed to potential vacant space (that might become available in the future but no specific date has been identified) or future vacant space (that is planned to be available at a specific date).
	100 per cent. of property records within the mandated estate are entered on e-PIMS.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Liam Fox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has accrued to the Exchequer from duty on sales of cider in each year since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Historical receipts of duty collected from cider can be found in Table 2 of the HM Revenue and Customs Beer and Cider Duties Bulletin, available at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullbeer

Government Departments: Carbon Emissions

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made against the 2006 target to reduce carbon emissions from road vehicles used for Government administrative operations by 15 per cent. by 2010-11 relative to 2005-06 levels.

Ian Pearson: Government have a target to reduce carbon emissions from road vehicles used for administrative purposes by 15 per cent. by 2010 relative to a 2005-06 baseline. Overall the Government are on track to achieve this target, the current overall reduction against the baseline year is 17 per cent. Data supporting this delivery figure have been supplied by Departments and published. The latest assessment of Government's performance against this target was published by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) on 18( )December 2009, and is available on the OGC website:
	http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sustainability_programme_progress.asp

Inheritance Tax: Dundee

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue accrued to the Exchequer from inheritance tax levied on estates in Dundee East constituency in the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The information is not currently available at a constituency level. Inheritance tax data are based on a UK-wide sample of cases which is designed to produce national level figures and the size of the sample means that HMRC cannot reliably estimate tax receipts below a regional level.

Inheritance Tax: Housing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many estates in the UK inheritance tax was paid in each year since 1996.

Stephen Timms: The number of estates on which UK inheritance tax was paid is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-4.xls

Inheritance Tax: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue accrued to the Exchequer from inheritance tax on estates in Leeds North West constituency in the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The information is not currently available at constituency level. Inheritance tax data is based on a UK wide sample of cases which is designed to produce national level figures and the size of the sample means that HMRC cannot reliably estimate the number of taxpayers below a regional level.

Insurance: Buildings

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to give the Financial Services Authority the power to consider cases of unreasonable buildings insurance premiums charged by freeholders of rented or leasehold property.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Remedies already exist for leaseholders to establish whether or not the insurance premium they are asked to pay or contribute towards by way of service charges is reasonable.
	Where a leaseholder considers that a freeholder has overcharged in respect of the building insurance premium (or their contribution towards it), they have a right to take the case to a leasehold valuation tribunal for a determination of the reasonableness of the insurance.

Leave

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of contracted days' paid holiday was in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector on each industrial category in the most recent year for which information is available.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average number of contracted days' paid holiday was in the (a) public and (b) private sector by industrial category in the most recent year for which information is available. (318634)
	The latest available estimates of average paid holiday entitlement per year are provided in the attached table. The estimates are derived from data collected in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in Q4 2009. The distinction between public and private sector is based on the respondent's understanding of the organisation for which they work.
	As with any sample survey, the estimates provided are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Paid holiday entitlement for employees by sector. Three months ending December, 2009. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			   Average paid holiday entitlement (days per year)( 1) 
			 Public Sector(2) Total 29 
			   
			 Private Sector Total 21 
			   
			  Private Sector by main industry( 3)  sector:  
			 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 19 
			 Energy and water 25 
			 Manufacturing 22 
			 Construction 21 
			 Distribution, hotels and restaurants 18 
			 Transport and communication 23 
			 Banking, finance and other business services 22 
			 Public administration, education and health 22 
			 Other services 18 
			   
			 Total(4) 23 
			 (1) Excludes public holidays (2) Includes nationalised industry or state corporation, central Government, civil service, local government or council (incl. police, fire services and local authority controlled schools or colleges), university or other grant funded educational establishment, health authority or NHS trust and armed forces. (3) According to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992. (4) Includes those whose type of employer was not known.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey

Non-Domestic Rates: Garages and Petrol Stations:

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many petrol retail stations were on the Valuation Office Agency's Rating List in 1997; and how many there are on the 2010 Rating List.

Ian Pearson: As the hon. Member will be aware, there have been some significant changes in the structure of petrol retailing over the past 15 years. Petrol filling stations in the 1995 Rating Lists were identified using Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Special Category (SCAT) code 222.
	As at 1 April 1997 there were 11,870 in England and 1,050 in Wales.
	In the Draft 2010 Rating Lists petrol filling stations are under SCAT 209.
	As at 2 November there were 5,650 in England and 440 in Wales.

Non-Domestic Rates: Retail Trade

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total rateable value is of hereditaments classified as retail properties; and for how many such properties the rateable value is  (a) under £5,000,  (b) between £5,000 and £14,999,  (c) between £15,000 and £24,999,  (d) between £25,000 and £49,999,  (e) between £50,000 and £99,999,  (f) between £100,000 and £499,999 and  (g) at least £500,000.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 22 February 2010
	The Valuation Office Agency Identifies the various types of property contained in the Rating Lists by the use of a Specialist (SCAT) code.
	These data are consistent with the statistical release titled: "Non-domestic Rateable Values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales", published on 18 December 2009. A copy of the statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	
		
			  Properties with a 'Retail' SCAT code of 021, 024, 086, 097, 098, 106, 139, 152, 154, 155, 210, 235, 243, 249, 251, 417, 425, 429, 442, 504, 507, 508 
			   England  Wales  Total 
			  Rateable v alue  Number hereditaments (Thousand)  Total rateable value (£ million)  Number hereditaments (Thousand)  Total rateable value (£ million)  Number. hereditaments (Thousand)  Total rateable v alue (£ million) 
			 Below 5,000 142 447 12 35 154 482 
			 Between 5,000 and 14,999 195 1,696 10 82 205 1,779 
			 Between 15,000 and 24,999 52 988 2 45 54 1,033 
			 Between 25,000 and 49,999 40 1,400 2 63 42 1,463 
			 Between 50,000 and 99,999 22 1,543 1 69 23 1,613 
			 Between 100,000 and 499,999 21 4,223 1 208 22 4,431 
			 500,000 or over 4 4,458 0 204 4 4,662 
			 Total 476 14,755 29 707 505 15,462

Pension Credit: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners resident in Leeds North West constituency have been contacted as part of his Department's pension credit tax back campaign.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As part of the Taxback campaign announced at Budget 2009, HM Revenue and Customs have contacted all 3.4 million beneficiaries of pension credit to encourage those who are overpaying tax on their bank and building society interest to claim it back and, where eligible, to register to receive future interest payments without tax deducted. The latest information on the number of pension credit beneficiaries (August 2009), shows that there were 3,680 beneficiaries in the Leeds, North-West parliamentary constituency.

Revenue and Customs: Surveillance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) requests and  (b) approvals for authorisation for HM Revenue and Customs to carry out  (a) property interference,  (b) intrusive surveillance and  (c) covert human intelligence sources there have been in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The Chief Surveillance Commissioner, Sir Christopher Rose, publishes a yearly figure for property interference, intrusive surveillance and covert human intelligence sources for all police forces and other agencies, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), in his annual report to Parliament. Sir Christopher does not break the figure into individual forces or agencies as the sensitivity of the information could lead to criminals assessing the covert capability of each force and agency. This applies equally to HMRC and it is therefore not considered to be in the public Interest to make this information available.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the merits of restricting firms from using offshore companies to avoid stamp duty land tax.

Stephen Timms: Tax avoidance has the potential to damage the public finances and the provision of public services. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monitors all aspects of tax avoidance closely on a continuous basis, advising Ministers accordingly.

Tax Allowances

Angela Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of six;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of three;
	(3)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all couples with children under the age of six;
	(4)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all couples with children under the age of three.
	(5)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 of introducing a transferable personal allowance, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships.

Stephen Timms: holding answers 25 and 28 February 2010
	Due to the complex nature of these questions the following estimates should be treated with caution. These estimates exclude any behavioural response to the change, which could be significant given the magnitude of the change. This has the additional implication of limiting reliable modelling of costs to 2010-11.
	The estimated cost in 2010-11 of allowing personal tax allowances to be transferable, limited to the basic rate of income tax, for the specified groups would be:
	£0.6 billion for all couples with children under the age of three;
	£1.0 billion for all couples with children under the age of six;
	£0.5 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of three;
	£0.8 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships with children under the age of six;
	£4.2 billion for all married couples and couples in civil partnerships.
	These estimates have been calculated using HM Treasury's tax and benefit micro-simulation model using Family Resources survey 2007-08 data.

Taxation

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self-assessment forms required clerical action in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009; and for what reasons a self-assessment case may require clerical action.

Stephen Timms: Information on the circumstances in which clerical action may be required on a self-assessment (SA) return is contained in Her Majesty Revenue and Customs' SA instruction manual, available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/SA/index.htm
	The information requested on how many self-assessment returns required clerical action is available only at disproportionate cost as HMRC's systems do not capture this.

Taxation: Business

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the  (a) number of companies which have taken up the three-year carry-back of losses option since its implementation and  (b) monetary value of trading losses carried forward under section 393 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: In addition to the unincorporated businesses it has supported, HM Revenue and Customs estimated that approximately 11,000 companies have so far used the temporary extension of loss carry-back for trading losses from one year to three years for losses up to £50,000.
	The information requested on the pools of trading losses carried forward are available only at disproportionate cost, as they are not directly available from the 'C7 600 Company Self Assessment Return'.

Valuation Office Agency: Internet

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions the Valuation Office Agency's public website has been offline in the last 12 months.

Ian Pearson: The Valuation Office Agency's public website has had no unscheduled downtime in the last 12 months. It was offline for scheduled maintenance between 08:00 on 30 May 2009 to 18:00 on 31 May 2009 and 08:00 on 21 November 2009 to 18:00 on 22nd November 2009.

Valuation Office Agency: Manpower

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of the Valuation Office Agency's  (a) staff and  (b) council tax inspectors are (i) male and (ii) female.

Ian Pearson: The proportion of the Valuation Office Agency's staff who are male is 55 and 45 are female. Within the generic rating and council tax inspector role, 49 are male and 51 female. These figures are based on data as at 2 February 2010

Valuation Office Agency: North East

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Valuation Office Agency staff in offices in  (a) the North East and  (b) North Lincolnshire worked on the separate rating of port businesses in each year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: The VOA does not keep records of the number of staff involved in the assessment of separate hereditaments within statutory ports going back to 1997. Staff involved in work on the ports undertake general rating work in other locations and work in other business streams.

VAT: Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 11 January 2010,  Official Report, column 783W, on VAT: local government, how much was paid in value added tax refunds to local authorities consequent on judicial rulings in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) currently estimates that around £2 million was repaid in 2007-08 to local authorities and around £40 million in 2008-09 in respect of the judgment in Fleming/Conde Nast. HMRC does not routinely collect information on the overall level of refunds to local authorities as a result of litigation rulings.

Welfare Tax Credits: Aberdeenshire

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals in Banff and Buchan constituency receive tax credits; and what the average weekly level of such credits was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009", available:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec09.pdf
	As incomes and entitlements for 2009-10 have yet to be finalised, equivalent information on the average weekly payment is not yet available. The latest information on the average annual payment of tax credits to households, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2007-08", available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-payments-0708.pdf

Welfare Tax Credits: Glasgow

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Glasgow North East constituency have received  (a) child tax credit and  (b) working tax credit since 2004.

Stephen Timms: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency from 2003 to 2009, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses", available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
	The same information for 2008-09 is not yet available as awards have not yet been finalised. However, estimates of the number of recipient families with tax credits, based on provisional awards, as at 1 December 2009, are available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical analyses. December 2009", at the same internet address.
	HMRC do not produce these statistics separately for child tax credit and working tax credit.

Welfare Tax Credits: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were in receipt of tax credits in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment in such credits was in that constituency in that period.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009", available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec09.pdf
	As incomes and entitlements for 2009-10 have yet to be finalised, equivalent information on the average weekly payment is not yet available. The latest available information on the average annual payment of tax credits to households, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2007-08", available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-payments-0708.pdf

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers' Benefits

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances an asset owned by a carer in receipt of the carer's allowance may be disregarded for the purposes of an application for income support.

Jonathan R Shaw: Carers are treated in the same way as other income support customers when considering the effect an asset has on income support.
	Income support has a lower capital limit of £6,000 (or £10,000 for people permanently living in a care home) above which benefit is reduced and an upper limit of £16,000 above which benefit cannot be paid.
	The value of most forms of capital, which includes savings and assets, is counted when calculating entitlement to income support; however some forms of capital asset are disregarded. Income support rules on treatment of capital are extensive but the most common scenarios are covered as follows.
	All personal possessions belonging to an income support customer are disregarded with the exception of those acquired by the customer with the intention of reducing savings in order to secure entitlement to, or increase the amount of, income support.
	Certain forms of cash asset are disregarded when calculating entitlement to income support, for example, money derived from a personal injury compensation payment that is held in a trust fund. In addition certain other compensation payments are ignored such as payments to the customer made as a result of a person's imprisonment by the Japanese during the second world war and payments made to compensate for slave or forced labour during the second world war. Other types of cash asset can also be ignored, for example, certain lump sum payments for arrears of benefit and payments made by specific trusts and funds that have been set up in order to help people who have been infected by blood products.
	No account is taken of the value of a property that a person occupies as their home, while the value of any second property is normally treated as capital. However the Government do recognise that there are certain circumstances where it would be impractical and unfair to take the value of a second property into account. An example of this is that, once a property is put up for sale, the value can be ignored for up to 26 weeks, or longer where reasonable steps are being taken to sell it.

Departmental ICT

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has allocated for the  (a) procurement,  (b) maintenance,  (c) compliance testing and  (d) security of information technology systems in 2010-11.

Jim Knight: The information is not held centrally in the format requested and therefore cannot be provided.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many designs for its website her Department has commissioned since 2005.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has commissioned one redesign for the DWP Corporate website since 2005. This redesign was launched in June 2009.

Departmental Manpower

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the proportion of staff of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies managed out in the last five years who remain working in the public sector.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department and its agencies do not hold information on the employment of former staff after they leave the Department and no estimate has been made of how many remain working in the public sector.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much of the additional £5 billion announced in  (a) pre-Budget report 2008 and  (b) the Budget 2009 has been allocated to (i) Jobcentre Plus, (ii) Flexible New Deal, (iii) the Future Jobs Fund, (iv) the Young Persons Guarantee, (v) the six month offer and (vi) other employment-related programmes;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the underspend from planned budgets for the additional £5 billion announced in the  (a) pre-Budget report 2008 and  (b) Budget 2009 in respect of expenditure on (i) Jobcentre Plus, (ii) Flexible New Deal, (iii) the Future Jobs Fund, (iv) the Young Persons Guarantee, (v) the six month offer and (vi) other employment-related programmes;
	(3)  how much her Department has reallocated consequent on the rate of claimant unemployment at the time of Budget 2009; from what budgets that money has been reallocated; and to which budgets it has been transferred;
	(4)  how much of the additional £5 billion announced in the  (a) pre-Budget report 2008 and  (b) Budget 2009 has been spent.

Jim Knight: In the pre-Budget report 2008, and Budget 2009, the Chancellor announced that additional investment of up to £5 billion discretionary spending would be made available as a response to the recession. The following table shows how this £5 billion was allocated:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   pre-Budget report 2008  Budget 2009 
			 Jobcentre Plus and other corporate expenditure 871 1,005 
			 Employment Providers and Local Authorities (for the administration of Housing Benefit) 461 709 
			 Six month offer n/a 511 
			 Future Jobs Fund and Young Person's Guarantee n/a 1,208 
			 Support for Mortgage Interest 135 135 
		
	
	Of the £5 billion additional investment, £2.1 billion is allocated to 2009-10 and £2.9 billion to 2010-11. The precise allocation of this resource within the Department is set out in our three-year business plan, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
	The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance at the end of 2009 was over 450,000 lower than the NAO audited assumption at the time of Budget 2009. If unemployment follows the revised NAO audited assumption set out in the pre-Budget report 2009, benefit expenditure would be around £10 billion lower over the next five years than forecast at Budget 2009. This has also led to savings from the Department's budget and allows us to reprioritise £400 million over the next 18 months to fund the measures set out in "Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment".
	The Department keeps financial allocations to its programmes under constant review and will publish updated budgets in the revised three-year Business Plan, which will be published before the end of the current financial year.

Departmental Public Relations

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on  (a) communications,  (b) marketing,  (c) advertising and  (d) external public relations in 2009.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DWP communications team has a wide-ranging remit to support the delivery of the Department's objectives. This includes communicating with staff, the public, business and stakeholders on the help and support available throughout the downturn, eligibility for entitlements, pensions, additional help and support as well as encouraging saving for later life. The team works right across the breadth of the Department's responsibilities and includes providing services for Jobcentre Plus and the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service.
	Spend information is available for financial years rather than calendar years. Fully audited figures for spend on advertising for 2009-10 are not available at this time. Therefore data supplied is for the 2008-09 financial year.
	During 2008-09 financial year a total of £42.283 million was spent by DWP on all communication services. This total covers the spend with external marketing and communication suppliers but does not include internal staff costs and any communications interim personnel. In addition a further £1.735 million was spent on Marketing and Publicity services through the Department's Print and Associated Services contract with iON during the 2008-09 period. These figures are against overall DWP running costs in 2008-09 of £7.9 billion (0.56 per cent. of overall spend).
	Included in this, DWP spent £12.327 million on advertising in this period. All costs are exclusive of VAT, COI fees, advertising rebates and audit adjustments and are for media spend only. They also exclude the cost of creative work, research, production of supporting materials or launch events.
	Again, included in the overall figure was a total of £1.2 million was spent by DWP on external public relations during 2008-09.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of her Department's staff at each grade work in the Benefit Simplification Unit; what targets have been set for the Unit; what recent progress reports the Unit has published; what recommendations the Unit has made since its inception; and how many such recommendations have been implemented.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The Benefit Simplification Unit has three full-time staff (one SEO and two HEOs) with additional input from a senior civil servant (Grade 5) and a Grade 7.
	Their role is to challenge existing complexity across the benefits system, and to ensure that the move towards a simpler, more transparent system is at the heart of future benefit design and delivery.
	Progress on simplification is reported on annually in the departmental report, and the effectiveness of the unit is reflected in the extent to which key performance indicators are met across the Department, where these indicators are partly dependent on the complexity of the system.
	Simplification measures-both of benefit rules and ease of customer access-introduced since the unit was set up include:
	ignoring all final earnings on new claims to benefit (from October 2007). This got rid of a complex and error-prone part of assessing initial benefit entitlement;
	the national roll-out of local housing allowance (April 2008), a major shift in the way housing payments are made in the private rented sector which makes them simpler and speedier to administer;
	the introduction of employment and support allowance (October 2008), removed confusion resulting from the availability of two benefits for people who are ill or disabled-incapacity benefit, and income support-by replacing them with one simpler benefit for this client group;
	paying all working age benefits on a common payday (to be completed by April 2011) instead of confusingly different paydays;
	extending the Rapid Reclaim process since the last claim for jobseeker's allowance and income support from 12 to 26 weeks, providing a speedier service, with less form-filling;
	transferring all our benefit internet services to Directgov, the main public services website. Customers can now get advice on what to claim on the benefit adviser and track the progress of claims via the secure Benefit Enquiry service.

Departmental Telephone Services

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of benefit and pension claimants calling her Department's telephone inquiry lines from mobile telephones who are not to be charged for the cost of the call; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's policy is that all calls to claim the state pension, jobseekers' allowance, employment support allowance as well as to ask for emergency payments or crisis loans, should be free. These 0800 numbers are already free from land lines, which around 70 per cent. of our callers use. The recent agreement with the five biggest UK mobile providers means that calls from their mobile phone networks to these specific 0800 numbers will now be free to their customers as well.
	The Department uses 0845 telephone numbers where its customers call for other reasons, and these are calls that typically that take less time to resolve. The charges that apply to these calls will be set by the customer's telephone or mobile operator.
	Where a customer calling our 0800 or 0845 services asks us, or raises concerns over the cost of the call, we will offer to call them back.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons 36 per cent. of employment support allowance cases conducted between October 2008 and February 2009 were closed before their assessment was completed.

Jonathan R Shaw: A detailed breakdown of the information is not available.
	There are many reasons why a claim may be closed before the assessment is complete, including people that only need to claim benefit for a short period of time due to a short-term illness or those who claim employment and support allowance completely in error.
	As part of the evaluation of employment and support allowance we will be conducting research to examine in more detail those claims that are withdrawn before the assessment is completed.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she expects a system for the central holding of information relating to personal capability assessment and claims for incapacity benefit to be introduced.

Jonathan R Shaw: We do not expect to develop a system that would track individuals claiming incapacity benefit through the assessment process. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance for new claimants in October 2008 and systems have been put in place for the tracking of people who claim employment support allowance. We do not intend to put systems in place for retrospectively tracking the result of assessment for historical claims.

Employment and Support Allowance: Disabled

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of applicants for employment and support allowance have been classified as disabled;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of applicants for employment and support allowance who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease have been classified as disabled;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of applicants for employment and support allowance who were previously in receipt of incapacity benefit have been classified as disabled;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of applicants for employment and support allowance who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and who were previously in receipt of incapacity benefit have been classified as disabled;
	(5)  what percentage of applicants for employment and support allowance diagnosed with fibromyalgia have been classified as disabled;
	(6)  what percentage of applicants for employment and support allowance diagnosed with fibromyalgia who had previously been in receipt of incapacity benefit have been classified as disabled.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is not available.
	Information on whether a claimant is disabled or not is not recorded for the purposes of employment and support allowance.

Employment Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what job outcome evidence her Department has collected for  (a) the day one offer,  (b) the six month offer,  (c) support for unemployed professionals and executives and  (d) the Flexible New Deal since that scheme was introduced.

Jim Knight: Information on job outcomes as a direct consequence of the day one offer, which includes support for unemployed professionals and executives, is not available.
	The Six Month Offer has a number of elements including the Recruitment Subsidy, Self Employment Credit, Work-Focused Training and Volunteering. Official statistics were published on 20 January 2010 which showed that between April 2009 and October 2009:
	15,530 jobseeker's allowance customers have used the Recruitment Subsidy;
	5,310 jobseeker's allowance customers have taken up the Self Employment Credit.
	The first statistics on Work-Focused Training were published on 17 February 2010. We are investigating the feasibility of reporting Work-Focused Training job outcomes for future publications of Six Month Offer statistics. We are also looking into how we can calculate job outcomes for the Volunteering Offer as part of the official statistics publication.
	The Flexible New Deal started on 5 October and official statistics will be available from autumn 2010.

Employment Schemes: Females

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department has taken to help new female claimants of jobseeker's allowance to find long-term employment in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: All JSA customers are treated according to their individual circumstances, in keeping with a personalised and professional service and have the same access to the wide range of initiatives to help them return to work.
	All departmental policies are subject to an Equality Impact Assessment and after implementation take up of programmes is monitored, including by gender, for further development of design and delivery.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in which  (a) Jobcentre Plus districts,  (b) local authorities and  (c) constituencies Future Jobs Fund jobs are not available to young people as part of the young person's guarantee;
	(2)  in which  (a) Jobcentre Plus districts,  (b) local authorities and  (c) constituencies not all of the elements of the young person's guarantee are available; and which such elements are (i) available and (ii) not available in each such area.

Jim Knight: In principle the Young Person's Guarantee, including the Future Jobs Fund, is available in all Jobcentre Plus districts, in all local authorities and in all constituencies, dependent on there being successful bids in these areas. In Scotland and Wales the training element of the Young Person's Guarantee is provided by the devolved administrations.

Employment: Scotland

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of the number of people seeking employment in the  (a) engineering industry,  (b) life sciences sector,  (c) renewable energy industry and  (d) construction industry in Scotland.

Jim Knight: The information is not available, in the format requested.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accepted Future Jobs Fund bids were initially rejected.

Jim Knight: Where bidding organisations fail to meet the Future Jobs Fund assessment criteria they are provided with feedback and offered further support from DWP, Jobcentre Plus and the Government Office network to enable them to improve and submit their bids. As a result of this process, so far, 38 of the initially rejected organisations have subsequently successful.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accepted Future Jobs Fund bids are expected to create fewer than 30 jobs.

Jim Knight: 272 bids to the Future Jobs Fund have been accepted, which will create up to 110,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs.
	We encourage partnership bids but would not necessarily rule out bids for fewer than 30 jobs.
	So far, 18 of the 272 accepted bids are expected to create fewer than 30 jobs.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the number of jobs each accepted Future Jobs Fund bid will create.

Jim Knight: To date 255 bids have been successful and the Department for Work and Pensions has agreed to fund around 110,000 jobs.

Future Jobs Fund

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many social enterprises have participated in the Future Jobs Fund;
	(2)  how many jobs created under the Future Jobs Fund have been in  (a) local authorities and  (b) third sector organisations.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the requested format.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2010 to the hon. Member for South Dorset,  Official Report, column 258W, on the Future Jobs Fund, of the jobs announced to date for which it is possible to ascertain the location, how many are expected to be created in each local authority area;
	(2)  how many of the jobs announced to date are expected to be created in each constituency.

Jim Knight: Data on the Future Jobs Fund are not collected by local authority or by constituency, and as such the data of how many jobs are to be created in each are not available.

Future Jobs Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs in  (a) the arts and  (b) the media have been created under the Future Jobs Fund since its inception.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	My Department is working closely with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and we have created more than 6,500 job opportunities in the culture and sports sectors under the Future Jobs Fund.

Incapacity Benefit

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate her Department has made of the  (a) number and  (b) proportion of current claimants of incapacity benefit who are not required to meet any conditions in order to continue to receive the benefit.

Jonathan R Shaw: All recipients of incapacity benefits must meet the conditions of entitlement in order to qualify for benefit.

Incapacity Benefit

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of off-flows from incapacity benefit have been due to claimants moving into work in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is not available.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the qualifying criteria are for industrial injuries disablement benefit for those with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Jonathan R Shaw: In order to be entitled to industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB) in respect of osteoarthritis of the knee a person must satisfy criteria based on occupation and the level of disablement caused by the disease.
	The occupational criteria are as follows:
	Underground work as a coal miner up to the end of 1985.
	If the work was after 1985, a person must have worked underground in one of the following occupations:
	face worker working on a non-mechanised coal face; or
	development worker; or
	face-salvage worker; or
	conveyor belt cleaner; or
	conveyor belt attendant.
	In total at least 10 years must be spent in the occupation. Pre and post 1985 periods of employment in the relevant occupation can count towards the 10 year total.
	If a person satisfies the occupational criteria the case is referred to medical services for advice on the level of disablement. For IIDB purposes, disablement is assessed by making a comparison with a person of the same age and sex whose physical and mental condition is normal. In each case, advice on the assessment of disablement and the likely duration is given by a doctor specially trained in industrial injuries disablement matters.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what means the proportion of disablement is determined for former miners making a claim for industrial injuries disablement benefit in respect of osteoarthritis of the knee.

Jonathan R Shaw: The level of disablement for all customers who claim industrial injuries disablement benefit in respect of diseases and accidents caused by occupation is assessed as a percentage up to 100 per cent. The percentage determines the level of payment.
	The customer will normally be asked to attend a medical examination carried out by a trained health care professional appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who will provide the decision-maker with advice on the level of disablement in each case, taking account of all the evidence available and comparing the customers condition as a result of the effects of the prescribed disease or accident with that of a normal healthy person of the same age and sex.

Jobcentre Plus: Expenditure

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much Jobcentre Plus in each region has spent on  (a) redundancies and  (b) recruitment in each month since January 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance have been identified through the Labour Market System as being unemployed for 22 out of 24 months in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information from the Labour Market System is not currently available.
	We are not able to provide alternative information for all current claimants from the jobseeker's allowance databases (rather than the Labour Market System) because this would involve complex data linking and analysis and would be possible only at a disproportionate cost.

New Deal for Lone Parents

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people aged between 16 and 24 years old in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England have taken part in the New Deal for Lone Parents in each month since January 2005.

Jim Knight: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The information is in the following yearly table:
	
		
			   Chesterfield constituency  Derbyshire  England 
			  2005
			 January 10 30 2,650 
			 February 10 30 2,460 
			 March - 20 2,220 
			 April - 20 2,710 
			 May 10 30 2,080 
			 June 10 20 1,910 
			 July 10 20 2,520 
			 August 10 40 1,960 
			 September 10 30 3,100 
			 October 10 30 2,370 
			 November 10 30 2,300 
			 December - 10 1,470 
			 
			  2006
			 January - 10 2,140 
			 February - 20 2,230 
			 March - 30 2,530 
			 April - 10 1,450 
			 May - 20 1,620 
			 June - 10 1,870 
			 July - 10 1,470 
			 August 10 20 1,420 
			 September - 20 2,170 
			 October - 10 1,740 
			 November - 10 1,850 
			 December - 10 1,430 
			 
			  2007
			 January - 10 2,320 
			 February 10 20 2,570 
			 March 10 30 3,710 
			 April - 20 2,050 
			 May 10 30 2,250 
			 June 10 30 2,580 
			 July 10 20 2,150 
			 August 10 20 2,490 
			 September - 20 2,670 
			 October 10 40 2,850 
			 November 10 40 3,520 
			 December - 20 1,500 
			 
			  2008
			 January - 20 2,630 
			 February 10 40 3,650 
			 March - 20 2,380 
			 April 10 30 2,650 
			 May 10 20 2,990 
			 June 10 30 2,660 
			 July 10 30 2,560 
			 August - 20 3,020 
			 September 10 30 3,160 
			 October 10 40 3,560 
			 November - 20 2,350 
			 December 10 20 1,290 
			 
			  2009
			 January - 20 2,330 
			 February - 20 1,880 
			 March 10 20 1,990 
			 April - 10 1,490 
			 May 10 30 1,970 
			 June - 30 1,610 
			 July 10 40 2,090 
			 August 10 40 1,760 
			 September - 40 2,250 
			 October 10 50 2,710 
			 November 10 40 2,100 
			  Notes: 1. Definitions and conventions: "-" denotes nil or negligible. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Westminster parliamentary constituency: allocated (post May 2005) using the ONS postcode directory and customer's postcode. 3. The county of Derbyshire includes the local authorities: Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire, and South Derbyshire. 4. Time series-month of starting: the calendar month of starting New Deal for Lone Parents. The latest data are to November 2009.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate

New Deal for Partners

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many partners in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England have taken part in the New Deal for Partners in each month since January 2005.

Jim Knight: holding answer 25 February 2010
	 The information is in the following yearly table. The numbers are the numbers of people starting in the New Deal for Partners in each month. The figures are available up to November 2009 For the Chesterfield constituency, the figures are shown as Nil throughout, the tables, because of the standard downward roundings used in the Department's monthly data. Annual figures show that 50 people started in the New Deal for Partners in the five years from 2005 to 2009 inclusive.
	
		
			  Numbers of people starting on New Deal for Partners 2005 to November 2009 
			   Chesterfield constituency  Derbyshire  England 
			  2005
			 January - 10 190 
			 February - - 180 
			 March - - 220 
			 April - - 240 
			 May - - 150 
			 June - 10 150 
			 July - - 170 
			 August - 10 90 
			 September - - 180 
			 October - 10 120 
			 November - 10 120 
			 December - - 80 
			 
			  2006
			 January - - 120 
			 February - 10 160 
			 March - 10 200 
			 April - 10 110 
			 May - 10 130 
			 June - - 150 
			 July - - 120 
			 August - 10 110 
			 September - - 130 
			 October - - 110 
			 November - 10 160 
			 December - 10 150 
			 
			  2007
			 January - 10 180 
			 February - - 200 
			 March - - 240 
			 April - - 140 
			 May - 10 140 
			 June - 10 180 
			 July - 10 150 
			 August - - 120 
			 September - - 150 
			 October - 10 120 
			 November - - 160 
			 December - - 80 
			 
			  2008
			 January - 10 160 
			 February - - 180 
			 March - - 120 
			 April - - 130 
			 May - - 150 
			 June - 10 150 
			 July - - 180 
			 August - - 130 
			 September - - 190 
			 October - - 200 
			 November - 10 170 
			 December - - 70 
			 
			  2009
			 January - - 150 
			 February - - 110 
			 March - - 170 
			 April - - 100 
			 May - - 120 
			 June - - 110 
			 July - 10 140 
			 August - 10 120 
			 September - - 140 
			 October - - 190 
			 November - - 160 
			  Notes: 1. Definitions and Conventions: "-" denotes Nil or negligible. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Westminster Parliamentary Constituency: allocated (post May 2005) using the ONS postcode directory and customer's postcode. 3. The County of Derbyshire includes the local authorities: Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire, and South Derbyshire. 4. Time series - month of starting: the calendar month of starting New Deal for Partners. The latest data is to November 2009. 5. Spells are not available for New Deal for Partners so individual level data is used instead. This means that only the most recent entry to the New Deal for Partners is included.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate

Pathways to Work

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will publish the latest cumulative performance data for Pathways to Work providers.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 February 2010
	These statistics were published on 23 February 2010.

Pathways to Work: Feltham

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Feltham and Heston constituency have  (a) started Pathways to Work and  (b) made recorded job starts under Pathways to Work in each year since the inception of the programme; and how many of those who started a job remain in employment.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information requested is not available.

Pensioners: Poverty

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many pensioners resident in Stroud constituency were officially defined as poor in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what her most recent estimate is of the level of pensioner poverty in Stroud constituency; and what steps her Department has taken to assist those affected.

Angela Eagle: The Government use a basket of three key thresholds of income, after housing costs, to measure pensioner poverty. The most commonly used figures relate to those with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, after housing costs.
	Estimates of poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the Stroud constituency is not available, though figures relating to the south-west Government office region are.
	Three-year averages are used to report regional statistics as single-year estimates are subject to volatility. Figures are quoted to the nearest 100,000. The following table shows the number and percentage of pensioners in the south-west Government office region who have incomes below 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income:
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pensioners in the south-west Government office region with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median after housing costs 
			   Number of pensioners  Percentage of pensioners 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 300,000 28 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 300,000 26 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 200,000 25 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 200,000 24 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 200,000 22 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 200,000 19 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 200,000 16 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 200,000 16 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 200,000 18 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are published in the Households Below Average Incomes (HBAI) series for 2007-08, and are based on FES figures up to 1997-98, and on the FRS from 1998-99. Three sample years have been combined for regional statistics as single year estimates are subject to volatility. 2. Number of pensioners has been rounded to the nearest 100,000. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. 3. Changes between periods are calculated based on unrounded figures and therefore may differ from the difference between the rounded figures presented above. 
		
	
	The final row in this table, covering the three year period 2005-06 to 2007-08 is the most recent estimate of pensioner poverty in the south-west region produced in the Department.
	Our strategy since 1997 has been to target help on the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
	We have a good track record of reducing pensioner poverty. In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners in relative poverty than in 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income after housing costs). Today's pensioners are less likely to be living in relative poverty after housing costs than the population as a whole.
	In 1997, the poorest pensioners, who received Income Support, lived on around £69 a week (equivalent to £98 a week in today's prices). Today pension credit ensures that no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week or £198.45 a week for couples). This represents an increase in income by almost a third in real terms. And many of those on pension credit will also be entitled to additional support through housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	The Pension, Disability and Carers Service continue to promote take-up of benefits for those entitled. This involves data matching to identify entitled non-recipients, home visits for vulnerable customers, targeted local marketing and media campaigns, a simple claim process involving telephones as well as paper claims and ever closer working with partner organisations. The Department is also looking at innovative ways of using information that we already hold to make payments of pension credit more automatically to entitled non-recipients.
	In the Pensions Act 2007, we made a commitment to continue to uprate the pension credit standard minimum guarantee at least in line with average earnings over the long-term. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has commented that without this, it is likely there would be significant increases in pensioner poverty in the future.
	We have also made a commitment to re-link the uprating of the basic state pension to average earnings. Our objective, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, is to do this in 2012, but in any event by the end of the next Parliament at the latest. This will benefit almost 12 million pensioners.

Pensioners: Social Security Benefits

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to ensure that eligible pensioners receive their entitlement to  (a) cold weather payments and  (b) pension credit; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The Government are committed to helping vulnerable customers to heat their homes during the cold weather, so we are continuing cold weather payments. These provide £25 towards eligible customers' heating costs during each consecutive seven-day period of very cold weather. There is no need to claim as eligible customers are paid automatically when payments are triggered in their area.
	External communications, including media and web interviews and briefings for welfare organisations, focus on reassuring customers that they will get payments and do not need to make a claim. An online tool is available on the Directgov website where people can find out about eligibility and whether payments have been triggered in their area. There is also a leaflet, 'The Social Fund' which provides information.
	The Government are also committed to reducing pensioner poverty and works hard to ensure pensioners are aware of pension credit. The claims process has been simplified and since November 2008 telephone claims for housing benefit and council tax benefit can be forwarded directly to the local authority.
	Targeted take-up campaigns continue in selected regions to raise awareness and to encourage customers to apply. The campaign uses a range or methods including targeted direct mail, supported by sustained media coverage as well as community advertising.
	When contacted, customer advisers in the Pension, Disability and Carers Service discuss pension credit with those who may be eligible and it also conducts around 13,000 home visits a week for vulnerable customers ensuring they are receiving the benefits they are entitled to.
	Joint Working Partnerships have been established with all 203 primary tier local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. These enable the Pension Disability and Carers Service, local authorities and the voluntary sector to provide a single point of access to social care and benefit entitlement.

Self-employed

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have moved into self-employment under the six-month offer introduced on 6 April 2009; how many people have received the self-employment credit; how much has been spent in total on the self-employment credit; and what estimate she has made of the average cost of movement into self-employment under the offer.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 February 2010
	Under the jobseeker's allowance self-employment offer, there are two elements to the help we give people who want to move into self-employment or start a business-self-employment advice and support through our expert partners, and financial support for those leaving jobseeker's allowance and becoming self-employed.
	Between April and October 2009, 5,310 jobseeker's allowance recipients have left benefit and claimed the self-employment credit as they moved into self-employment.
	Total spend on the self-employment credit up to the end of October 2009 was £2,267,776 with a unit cost of up to a maximum of £800 per start (up to 16 weeks at £50 per week). The average cost is not available.

Snow and Ice

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the costs to her Department arising from the severe weather conditions in the period 4 January to 18 January 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The severe weather experienced between 4 and 18 January 2010 had no significant impact on the operations of the Department for Work and Pensions and JCP and consequently no such estimate has been made.
	In addition, between 4 and 18 January, for Great Britain, an estimated 6.9 million cold weather payments worth an estimated £174 million were authorised.

Social Security Benefits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much her Department has spent on  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) employment and support allowance and  (c) severe disablement allowance awarded on the basis of (i) drug or alcohol dependency and (ii) alcoholic liver disease in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much her Department has spent on disability living allowance awarded on the basis of alcoholic liver disease in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how much her Department has spent on disability living allowance awarded on the basis of drug or alcohol dependency in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many claimants received awards of  (a) disability living allowance only,  (b) incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance or severe disablement allowance only and  (c) both disability living allowance and incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance or severe disablement allowance on the basis of alcoholic liver disease in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how many claimants received awards of disability living allowance on the basis of alcoholic liver disease in each year since 1997;
	(6)  how many claimants received awards of disability living allowance on the basis of drug or alcohol dependency in each year since 1997;
	(7)  how many claimants received awards of  (a) disability living allowance only,  (b) incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance or severe disablement allowance only and  (c) both disability living allowance and incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance or severe disablement allowance on the basis of drug or alcohol dependency in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Entitlement to incapacity benefits and disability living allowance is not dependent on a diagnosis or condition but relies instead on the effects that a person's condition has on their ability to carry out a number of everyday activities. The focus of the relevant medical assessment for incapacity benefits determines the extent to which these effects impact on a person, and benefit is only awarded after specific criteria are met. Similarly entitlement to disability living allowance is not dependent on a diagnosis or condition but relies instead on the care and/or mobility needs arising.
	Only the primary medical diagnosis written on a claimant's medical certificate is recorded for benefit purposes. However, many of those who claim benefit with a diagnosis of drug or alcohol dependency will also have other underlying medical conditions such as mental/psychiatric illness. Information on the cost and numbers of people on benefit who claim with a diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease is not available.
	From 27 October 2008 we replaced incapacity benefits for new customers with the employment and support allowance and a revised medical assessment which focuses on what people can do, as well as what they cannot.
	Medical conditions information for employment and support allowance is not yet available.
	The available information has been placed in the Library. It should be noted however that this represents a sub set of the total number of customers claiming these benefits who suffer from an alcohol or drug dependency

Social Security Benefits: Alcoholic Drinks

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) income support,  (c) incapacity benefit and  (d) employment and support allowance who were alcohol mis-users in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information is not available. Alcohol misuse is a concern for the Government and work is currently under way within the Department for Work and Pensions to derive robust estimates of alcohol misuse amongst the benefit population.

Social Security Benefits: Armed Forces

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department has issued on the treatment in the benefits system of  (a) current members of the armed forces,  (b) spouses and immediate family members of members of the armed forces and  (c) former members of the armed forces.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions and its executive agencies take into account an individual's circumstances as a matter of course, including current and former service personnel and their families.
	The Service Command Paper 'The Nation's Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans' [Cm 7424] published in July 2008 contained a number of departmental commitments to further support service personnel families and former members of the armed forces. These included an agreement to use service medical board evidence when considering entitlement to Employment Support Allowance (supporting guidance was issued to Jobcentre Plus staff in October 2009) and the Department's commitment to award Class 1 National Insurance Credits to spouses and civil partners of service personnel posted overseas with effect from April 2010. This will enable more members of service personnel families to qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and basic State Pension. Staff in my Department are currently working with colleagues in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and Ministry of Defence to produce guidance on this for our staff and customers. This will include producing a customer fact sheet, providing advice to go into the packs given to members of Her Majesty's forces when a posting outside the UK is about to end and making information, including the application form for the credits, available online via, the Department for Work and Pensions and Ministry of Defence websites. The addresses are:
	www.dwp.gov.uk
	www.mod.uk
	General guidance on the application and interpretation of Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance rules for our Decision Makers can be found in the Decision Makers Guide. A copy of the Guide is available in the Library and on the Department for Work and Pensions' website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/decision-makers-guide/
	Following the Home Office announcement last year that all Gurkhas who retired before 1 July 1997 with four years service would be able to settle in the UK, the Pension, Disability and Carers Service has been working with other Government Departments on plans for their arrival.
	Internal guidance is being prepared for issue shortly to Pension, Disability and Carers Service staff to help them respond to the needs of ex-Gurkhas.
	In the calculation of entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, a mandatory £10 disregard of income from war pensions (war disablement pension, a pension to a war widow or war widower or a similar pension paid to a surviving civil partner), applies. In addition, local authorities have discretionary powers to disregard some or all of any income from war pensions, including service attributable pensions, once the mandatory disregard of £10 has been made. It is a matter for each authority to decide the extent to which they apply the additional disregard. We have recently issued guidance clarifying that service attributable pensions fall to be disregarded under the discretionary powers.

Social Security Benefits: Departmental Coordination

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional processing work attributable to the recession which has fallen to her Department is being undertaken with the assistance of staff from other Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Pensions, Disability and Carers Service and the Child Support Agency have not taken on any staff from other Departments to process additional work as a result of the recession.
	In the 12 month period from October 2008 to September 2009 Jobcentre Plus have recruited 1,095 staff from other Government Departments.

Social Security Benefits: Drugs

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) income support,  (c) incapacity benefit and  (d) employment and support allowance who were problem drug users in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 10 February 2010
	In 2008 the Department for Work and Pensions published a research report: 'Population estimates of problematic drug users in England who access DWP benefits: A feasibility study', Working Paper No. 46, Hay, G. and Bauld, L. that estimated the number of problem drug users claiming various benefits. Such information as is available is presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimated number of claimants who are problem drug users by benefit type in 2006 
			  Benefit  Number of claimants 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 66,000 
			 Incapacity benefit 87,000 
			 Income support 146,000 
			 Total number of problem drug users on the above benefits 267,000 
			  Notes : 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Problem drug users are defined as those who use heroin and/or crack cocaine and includes those who are in treatment for their dependency. 3. The sum of the component benefits is greater than the total number of problem drug users estimated to be in receipt of the main benefits. This is because claimants can be in receipt of Incapacity Benefit and Income Support at the same time. 4. The figures relate to 2006 and therefore predate the introduction of employment support allowance.  Source: Population estimates of problematic drug users in England who access Department for Work and Pensions benefits: A feasibility study, Working Paper No. 46, Hay, G. and Bauld, L.

Social Security Benefits: Employment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of claimants of employment and support allowance have left the benefit for employment since its introduction.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Fibromyalgia

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department has issued to examining medical practitioners carrying out assessments for eligibility for disability living allowance and employment and support allowance on fibromyalgia.

Jonathan R Shaw: All examining Atos Healthcare professionals, who carry out examining assessments on behalf of the Department, undertake a distance learning module on fibromyalgia within 12 months of joining the organisation. The distance learning module is approved by the Chief Medical Adviser to the Department. In addition, they are required to undertake a programme of continuing medical education that is agreed with the Department. A module on chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia is included in the suite of continuing medical education topics available to the health care professionals.
	Entitlement to disability living allowance is not based on the diagnosis of a particular disability or illness but on the effects of disability on the individual person. It is the information about care and/or mobility needs which a person provides on the claim form, supported where necessary by medical reports from a GP or Atos Healthcare professional, which allows the decision-maker to determine entitlement.

Social Security Benefits: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of pension credits in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment was in such credits in that constituency in that period.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is in following table.
	
		
			  Recipients of pension credit in the Na h - Eileanan an  I ar constituency , as  at August 2009 
			   Number/£ 
			 Individual beneficiaries 2,870 
			 Households recipients 2,380 
			 Average weekly award of pension credit 55.17 
			 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves or on behalf of themselves and a partner. Beneficiaries are the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are claiming. 3. Pension credit is claimed on a household basis. The average weekly award of pension credit is in relation to the household. 4. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Social Security Benefits: Obesity

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of (a) employment and support allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) severe disablement allowance who have a primary diagnosis of obesity which limits their ability to work in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 February 2010
	To qualify for incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance, claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called the personal capability assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on the claim form does not in itself confer entitlement to benefit. This means that the decision for a customer who has claimed incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance because of obesity would be based on their ability to carry out a range of activities in the personal capability assessment. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation.
	Employment and support allowance was introduced from October 2008 for new customers only. It replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity or disability. Data by medical conditions are not yet available for employment and support allowance.
	The available information is provided in the table.
	
		
			  Number  of claimants of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance with obesity as the main disabling condition Great Britain and abroad  as at  May 2009 
			   Number 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 2,040 
			 Incapacity benefit 1,940 
			 Severe disablement allowance 90 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data.

Social Security Benefits: Obesity

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of  (a) incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and  (b) employment and support allowance had a primary diagnosis of obesity in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) each of the last four quarters for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: To qualify for incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance, claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called the personal capability assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on the claim form does not in itself confer entitlement to benefit. This means that the decision for a customer who has claimed incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance because of obesity would be based on their ability to carry out a range of activities in the personal capability assessment. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation.
	The available information is provided in the table.
	
		
			  N umber of claimants of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance with obesity as the main disabling condition Great Britain and abroad May 2005 to May 2009 
			   Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance  Incapacity benefit  Severe disablement allowance 
			 May 2005 1,830 1,710 120 
			 May 2006 1,890 1,790 110 
			 May 2007 1,980 1,880 100 
			 May 2008 2,070 1,970 100 
			 August 2008 2,130 2,030 100 
			 November 2008 2,140 2,040 100 
			 February 2009 2,110 2,010 90 
			 May 2009 2,040 1,940 90 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten. 2. Data by medical conditions is not yet available for employment and support allowance.  Source: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

State Retirement Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees of each  (a) sex and  (b) age have been contracted (i) in and (ii) out of the state second pension scheme in each year since 2004.

Angela Eagle: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Contracted out/in status during the year 
			  Employees ( T housand) 
			  Tax year  Contracted out/in status  Total  Female  Male 
			 2007-08 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,048 3,127 1,921 
			  Contracted out only 3,493 1,121 2,372 
			  Contracted in only 18,176 8,681 9,495 
			  Total 26,717 12,929 13,788 
			  
			 2006-07 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,270 3,175 2,095 
			  Contracted out only 4,040 1,289 2,751 
			  Contracted in only 17,011 8,203 8,808 
			  Total 26,320 12,666 13,653 
			  
			 2005-06 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,493 3,284 2,210 
			  Contracted out only 4,460 1,416 3,043 
			  Contracted in only 16,138 7,828 8,310 
			  Total 26,091 12,528 13,563 
			  
			 2004-05 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,512 3,253 2,260 
			  Contracted out only 5,004 1,565 3,440 
			  Contracted in only 14,871 7,342 7,529 
			  Total 25,388 12,159 13,229 
		
	
	
		
			  Contracted out/in status during the year 
			  Employees ( T housand) 
			  Tax year  Contracted out/in status  Total  Under 20  20 to 29  30 to 39  40 to 49  50 to 59  60 to 64 
			 2007-08 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,048 17 733 1,275 1,655 1,228 140 
			  Contracted out only 3,493 - 172 1,029 1,393 817 82 
			  Contracted in only 18,176 554 5,200 4,505 3,841 3,243 832 
			  Total 26,717 572 6,105 6,810 6,889 5,287 1,053 
			  
			 2006-07 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,270 35 841 1,403 1,698 1,174 119 
			  Contracted out only 4,040 - 219 1,267 1,515 943 96 
			  Contracted in only 17,011 547 4,975 4,290 3,576 2,970 654 
			  Total 26,320 582 6,034 6,960 6,789 5,086 869 
			  
			 2005-06 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,493 32 904 1,557 1,754 1,155 91 
			  Contracted out only 4,460 - 255 1,436 1,591 1,070 107 
			  Contracted in only 16,138 587 4,776 4,136 3,399 2,776 465 
			  Total 26,091 619 5,935 7,129 6,744 5,001 664 
			  
			 2004-05 Both contracted in and contracted out 5,512 38 944 1,658 1,738 1,071 63 
			  Contracted out only 5,004 *1 312 1,678 1,720 1,170 124 
			  Contracted in only 14,871 613 4,503 3,861 3,082 2,497 315 
			  Total 25,388 652 5,760 7,197 6,540 4,738 502 
			  Notes: 1. Asterisks indicate a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide. 2. Dashes represent nil or negligible numbers of individuals. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 should be regarded as provisional and may be subject to changes in future releases. 4. Ages of individuals are taken to be ages at the end of the relevant tax year-e.g. on 5 April 2008 for the 2007-08 tax year.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Lifetime Labour Market Database 1 per cent. sample of the National Insurance Recording System

Unemployment Benefits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what sanctions are available in relation to compulsory employment or training programmes; and how many times each such sanction has been used in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many times each type of sanction available for  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit,  (c) employment and support allowance and  (d) income support has been used in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Data on sanctions is available for jobseeker's allowance from the year 2000. Data on sanctions is not available for income support, incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance.
	Questions about entitlement to jobseeker's allowance can arise at any time from the commencement of a claim. For example, if there is doubt around whether the jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether the claimant is actively looking for work or making them self available for work. In most cases payment of Jobseeker's Allowance will be suspended until the doubt is resolved.
	The following types of sanctions are available for jobseeker's allowance claimants:
	Varied Length Sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision.
	Fixed Length Sanctions: A sanction of two weeks (four weeks if repeated within 12 months, and 26 weeks if already received a four week sanction within last 12 months) are imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's Direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question.
	Data on the number of times each type of sanction available for jobseeker's allowance has been used in each year since 2000, including those that are available in relation to compulsory employment or training programmes, has been placed in the Library.
	This information is also published on the Department for Work and Pensions website:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp
	Please note, in 2006 the Department refreshed the delivery of the jobseeker's allowance regime within Jobcentre Plus ensuring that all customers were receiving the right support at the right time. This led to a strengthening of the rights and responsibilities agenda which underpins the regime.
	This coincides with the increase in jobseekers who were sanctioned between 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Unemployment Benefits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of its expenditure on out-of-work benefits in each year since 1980, expressed in real terms;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of its expenditure on unemployment benefits in each year since 1980, expressed in real terms;
	(3)  what estimate her Department has made of its expenditure on out-of-work benefits in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11 expressed, in real terms;
	(4)  what estimate her Department has made of its expenditure on unemployment benefits in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11, expressed in real terms.

Jim Knight: The available information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure on out-of-work benefits in Great Britain, 1980-81 to 2010-11 
			  £ million (2009-10 prices) 
			   Incapacity-related benefits (including income support)  Income support for lone parents  Jobseeker's allowance  Total 
			  Status: Outturn 
			 1980-81 5,947 618 5,554 12,119 
			 1981-82 6,146 761 7,683 14,589 
			 1982-83 6,129 1,086 9,044 16,259 
			 1983-84 7,143 1,377 10,233 18,754 
			 1984-85 7,528 1,486 10,832 19,846 
			 1985-86 7,700 1,690 11,208 20,598 
			 1986-87 8,429 1,938 11,490 21,857 
			 1987-88 8,635 1,989 9,647 20,270 
			 1988-89 9,073 1,985 6,800 17,858 
			 1989-90 9,339 1,936 5,166 16,440 
			 1990-91 9,751 2,224 5,634 17,609 
			 1991-92 10,919 2,722 8,159 21,800 
			 1992-93 12,095 2,962 9,642 24,699 
			 1993-94 13,433 3,107 9,650 26,190 
			 1994-95 13,845 3,611 8,229 25,685 
			 1995-96 14,086 3,723 7,434 25,243 
			 1996-97 14,068 3,621 6,297 23,986 
			 1997-98 13,815 3,304 4,730 21,850 
			 1998-99 13,791 3,039 4,229 21,059 
			 1999-2000 13,523 2,799 3,787 20,109 
			 2000-01 13,815 2,844 3,243 19,902 
			 2001-02 13,835 2,712 2,858 19,405 
			 2002-03 13,571 2,399 2,784 18,754 
			 2003-04 13,458 2,564 2,671 18,693 
			 2004-05 13,214 2,378 2,326 17,918 
			 2005-06 13,084 2,225 2,534 17,842 
			 2006-07 12,807 2,143 2,612 17,562 
			 2007-08 12,836 2,220 2,342 17,398 
			 2008-09 12,503 2,088 2,916 17,506 
			  
			  Status: Forecast 
			 2009-10 13,512 2,223 4,950 20,685 
			 2010-11 13,533 1,831 5,642 21,006 
			  Notes:  1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.  2. Figures in the table have been adjusted to provide a consistent series throughout the period. Specifically, the following expenditure has been excluded from the table: Expenditure on invalidity benefit and incapacity benefit for people aged above state pension age, which was phased out between 1995 and 2000. Expenditure on income support in residential care and nursing homes, which was transferred to the Department of Health in 2002 and 2003. Child allowances in income support and jobseeker's allowance, which from 2003 were gradually replaced by child tax credit. 3. The JSA figures shown in the table are based on HM Treasury's assumption for claimant unemployment, which itself is based on forecasts from around 30 independent forecasters and is audited by the National Audit Office. It is intended as a cautious planning assumption, and does not represent the Treasury's own economic forecast.  Sources:  1. DWP Statistical and Accounting data.  2. Pre-Budget report forecasts.

Unemployment: Parents

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households there were in which  (a) both parents and  (b) one parent in a married or cohabiting couple claimed jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2005.

Jim Knight: The information is not available.

Work Capability Assessment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2010,  Official Report, column 213W, on social security benefits: medical examinations, what guidance her Department issues to ATOS Medical assessors on work capability assessments.

Jonathan R Shaw: The main guidance for examining Atos Healthcare professionals, who carry out the work capability assessments on behalf of the Department, is the Employment and Support Allowance handbook which has been developed in conjunction with the Chief Medical Adviser to the Department. This complements the training that the health care professionals receive to carry out the work capability assessment.

Work Capability Assessment: Parkinson's Disease

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department has issued to GPs on Parkinson's disease and medical assessments of individuals' fitness for work.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions does not issue guidance to GPs on Parkinson's disease. However, all healthcare professionals working for Atos Healthcare, who undertake work capability and personal capability assessments on behalf of the Department, are issued with an evidence based protocol on Parkinson's disease.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Anti-terrorism Control Orders

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 1054W, on control orders, if he will hold discussions with law reporters on arrangements for reports of control order judgments and interim orders; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: holding answer 25 February 2010
	My officials will hold discussions with the Ministry of Justice to explore the issues in relation to the reporting of closed judgments and interim orders.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department and its agencies have made of the accuracy of the data stored on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition databases for which they are responsible; and whether he has made a recent estimate of the proportion of entries on such databases which contain incorrect information.

Alan Campbell: Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems are owned and operated by individual police forces. Number plates read by police force cameras are fed into local Back Office Facility (BOF) databases before being forwarded to the National ANPR Data Centre (NADC) which is managed by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
	Chief Constables are "data controllers in common" for ANPR data and are responsible for the accuracy of the data. The National ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) ANPR Standards (NAAS) set out clearly the criteria for ANPR data quality.
	While no estimate has been made of the proportion of incorrect interpretations of number plates, an image of the plate is stored with each record of a sighting. The plate text is never used without the image being viewed and such information would not be acted upon without further information or intelligence.

Blaydon

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to the Blaydon constituency, the effects on Blaydon of his Department's policies and actions since 2000.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office has introduced a range of policies and initiatives since 2000. However, it is not always possible to quantify their effects particularly at constituency level. The available statistical information therefore relates to the Gateshead crime and disorder reduction partnership area.
	In terms of police recorded crime in Gateshead, between 2002-03 and 2008-09, total recorded crime fell by 41 per cent. More specifically:
	Violence against the person-down 36 per cent;
	Sexual offences-down 37 per cent;
	Robbery-down 68 per cent;
	Burglary-down 50 per cent;
	Offences against vehicles-down 49 per cent;
	Other theft offences-down 38 per cent;
	Criminal damage-down 36 per cent;
	Drug offences-down 40 per cent.
	Data prior to 2002-03 are not directly comparable because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002.
	Gateshead Basic Command Unit had 443 police officers as at 30 March 2009. The number of police officers has increased by 33 since 2003. Comparisons with 2000 for Gateshead BCU are not available. There were 35 police community support officers as at 30 March 2009 while there were none in existence in 2000.
	The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 saw positive effects with the statutory duty to create a crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP).
	Gateshead CDRP is a merged CDRP/DAAT and forms part of the local strategic partnership sub-group Safer Stronger Communities and Culture Partnership. There is a genuine partnership with police, local authority and other key stakeholders problem solving to tackle complex issues.
	Generally crime performance is positive. The overall rate of violence with injury per 1,000 population is lower than the regional and national averages.
	Gateshead, as part of Northumbria police force, has been part of the Tackling Knives Action Programme in 2009-10. This has provided additional funding for prevention and education activity on knife crime and serious youth violence, as well as additional enforcement operations. The partnership has have also received funding and support from the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to tackle domestic and sexual violence including the development of multi area risk assessment conference (MARAC), a special domestic violence court (SDVC) and associated independent domestic violence advisers (IDVA).
	Safer Gateshead uses ASB tools and powers effectively. It is currently reviewing its delivery to provide a graded approach to ASB with a focus on early intervention.
	Gateshead agreed to become a Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Pioneer Area in 2009. As a pioneer, it has dedicated resource to work with its communities to address local concerns on crime, antisocial behaviour and justice. The partnership uses Community Payback effectively as part of this approach.
	Gateshead is an intensive drug intervention programme (DIP) area and tackles drug-related offending through drug-testing on arrest and restriction on bail provisions thereby allowing more offenders to be targeted and steered into treatment and out of crime. Gateshead's DIP budget for 2009-10 is £637,363. In 2008-09 there were 2,255 positive drug tests with 945 problem drug users (crack and/or opiate users) recorded as being in effective drug treatment.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk

Burglary

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the rate of recovery has been of items stolen in reported incidents of aggravated burglary in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of reports of aggravated burglary to the police have resulted in  (a) an arrest of a suspect and  (b) a conviction in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many incidents of aggravated burglary there were in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 4 February 2010
	 Statistics in relation to recovery rates for items stolen is not collected centrally.
	In relation to part  (a) of the second question, the arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime broken down by offence group eg violence against the person, sexual offences, burglary etc. Data for component offences within each offence group is not available and therefore data on arrests for aggravated burglary cannot be provided.
	Referring to part  (b) of the second question, the number of people found guilty at all courts for 'aggravated burglary', England and Wales 2004 to 2008, the latest available, is given in table 1. Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	The available information for the third question relates to offences recorded by the police and is given in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for aggravated burglary( 1) , England and Wales 2004 to 2008( 2, 3, 4) 
			   Found guilty 
			 2004 284 
			 2005 245 
			 2006 248 
			 2007 264 
			 2008 292 
			 (1) Includes the following offences: i. Aggravated burglary in a dwelling. ii. Aggravated burglary in a building other than a dwelling. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes convictions data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice 080-10 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences of 'aggravated burglary' from 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  Area  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Aggravated burglary in a dwelling( 1)  
			 Ribble Valley CDRP(3) 0 0 1 1 3 
			 Lancashire PFA(4) 82 76 72 72 34 
			 England and Wales 2,538 2,162 1,806 1,572 1,455 
			   
			  Aggravated burglary in a building other than a dwelling( 2)  
			 Ribble Valley CDRP(3) 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire PFA(4) 1 7 8 9 2 
			 England and Wales 453 356 279 214 182 
			 (1) Domestic burglary. (2) Non-domestic burglary. (3) Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. (4) Police force area.

Control Orders

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on private security firms in respect of the oversight of individuals subject to a control order in each financial year since 2006-07.

David Hanson: holding answer 1 March 2010
	 The only involvement of private security firms in the oversight of individuals subject to a control order relates to the electronic monitoring of those individuals. This is carried out under contracts currently held by the Ministry of Justice. These contracts also cover all electronic monitoring of individuals within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
	The cost of the electronic monitoring of controlled individuals to the Ministry of Justice from April 2007 is set out in the following table. No breakdown of the costs of monitoring individuals subject to a control order is available for the period prior to April 2007 when these contracts were held by the Home Office.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost of electronic monitoring of control orders to the Ministry of Justice (£) 
			 2007-08(1) 74,900 
			 2008-09 72,700 
			 2009-10 (to the end of August)(2) 32,300 
			 (1) The figure for 2007-08 is based partly on estimates. (2) The figure for 2009-10 represents the most recent figure provided to the Ministry of Justice by the monitoring companies during the financial year and is based partly on estimates.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000: Prosecutions

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prosecutions,  (b) convictions and  (c) orders there have been under section 14 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	Section 14(1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 relates to
	"placing or maintaining on access land notice deterring public use".
	Section 14(2) and (3) stipulates
	"failure to comply with court order to remove notice deterring public use".
	Data available on the Court Proceedings Database show that, between 2000 and 2008 (latest available), in 2002 there was one prosecution and one finding of guilt under section 14 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. These data include section 14 sub-sections (1) (2) and (3) and it is therefore not possible to identify whether the proceedings were for placing or maintaining a notice or failure to comply with a court order.
	Court proceedings data given above are on the principle offence basis which relates to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. For example, when a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.

Departmental Advertising

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department plans to spend on television advertisements in 2009-10.

Phil Woolas: During the financial year 2009-10 the Home Office has spent £4,344,769 on TV advertising.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special advisers have been employed by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the average salary was for those special advisers in each such year.

Alan Johnson: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2009-10 was published by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, column 74WS. This information has been published since 2003.
	Information prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and is available in the Library of the House.

Deportation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many migrants were deported from the UK on the grounds that their presence was not conducive to the public good in each of the past 10 years.

Alan Johnson: In 2008 and 2009, the UK Border Agency removed or deported approximately 11,000 offenders. Of these, approximately 30 per cent. will have been removed on 'conducive' grounds. Information on those removed on conducive grounds from before 2008 would necessitate reviewing individual removal records. This would be a disproportionate cost.
	This information is taken from Internal Management Information and is subject to change.

Deportation: Offenders

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals sentenced to one year or more in prison were not removed from the UK following the end of their sentence in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 25 February 2010
	Between 2007 and 2009, the UK Border Agency removed approximately 15,000 foreign national offenders from the UK. Of these, approximately two-thirds had previously received a single or cumulative sentence of one year or more of which one-third were removed either before or within one month of the end of their sentence. The remainder were not removed following the end of their sentence and were, instead, either detained in a prison, an immigration removal centre, or released under UK Border Agency contact management conditions or by the Independent Tribunal Service on bail. Information regarding removals from before 2007 is not available electronically and could be obtained only by reviewing individual records. This would incur a disproportionate cost.
	This answer is based on internal management information and is subject to change.

Drugs: Crime

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the trends in levels of illegal drugs sold by Somali nationals in  (a) Southend and  (b) England and Wales.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 24 February 2010
	 A formal assessment into the trends in the sales of illegal drugs by Somali nationals has not been made. Drug offences are not separately identifiable by nationality.
	The illegal supply of drugs is a serious matter. Trafficking in controlled drugs of all classes needs to be tackled robustly in order to reduce the harm drugs cause to communities and organised criminality associated with their supply.
	The Government's strategy is to bear down on all points in the drugs supply chain in order to disrupt criminal gangs, stifle drug supply and reduce the harm caused to communities in the UK. Increasing quantities of drugs are being seized and organised crime groups and dealers disrupted.
	The latest figure published show that in 2008-09, there were a record 241,090 drug seizures by police and UK Border Agency (including HMRC) in England and Wales, up six per cent from the 228,131 seizures the previous year. These figures include 3,988 drug seizures made by Essex police in 2008-09, an increase of 45 per cent. on seizures made in 2007-08 (2,747).

Feltham

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Feltham and Heston constituency, the effects on the Department's policies since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office has introduced a range of policies and initiatives since 1997. However, it is not always possible to quantify their effects particularly at constituency level. Feltham and Heston comes within the Hounslow Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. The available statistical information therefore relates to the London borough of Hounslow at either CDRP or Basic Command Unit level.
	In terms of police recorded crime in the Hounslow CDRP, between 2002-03 and 2008-09, total recorded crime fell by 28 per cent. More specifically:
	Violence against the person - down 22 per cent.
	Sexual offences - down 30 per cent.
	Robbery - down 27 per cent.
	Burglary - down 23 per cent.
	Offences against vehicles - down 45 per cent.
	Other theft offences - down 24 per cent.
	Criminal damage - down 42 per cent.
	Drug offences - up 160 per cent [up 12 per cent. in last year] (there has been increased recording of drug offences which was mainly attributable to the increased use of police powers to issue cannabis warnings).
	Data prior to 2002-03 is not directly comparable because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. Additionally, no data at borough level is available prior to 1998-99.
	Hounslow BCU had 518 police officers as at 30 March 2009. The number of police officers has increased by 51 since 2003. Comparisons with 1997 for Hounslow BCU are not available. There were 98 Police Community Support Officers as at 30 March 2009 while there were none in existence in 1997.
	The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 saw positive effects with the statutory duty to create a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP). The CDRP has brought new ways of working in a cross cutting way with the police, council and other key stakeholders and genuine partnership working to help tackle complex issues.
	Along with the CDRP came the development of Safer Neighbourhood initiatives where there is now a dedicated police resource in each of the 20 wards of Hounslow which were not in place in 1997. Of the 20 Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) there are five in the Heston and Feltham wards, East, Central and West Heston and North and West Feltham. A more recent development is the Neighbourhood Community Safety Co-ordinators (NCSC). Part of the CDRPs pledge is to strengthen the work around community safety. This has included creating a new team of Neighbourhood Community Safety Co-ordinators of which there are five one covers Heston and Cranford and another covers Feltham. These co-ordinators are co-located at police stations throughout the borough. These officers will take a lead role in co-ordinating work around reducing crime, anti-social behaviour, alcohol and drugs by working with partners and residents in a designated area in the borough. (These officers have recently been recruited and Hounslow plan to launch the initiative in March.)
	Before 1997 there were no bespoke powers to tackle anti-social behaviour but there are now a range of powers to deal with this issue. These include Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), and Designated Public Places Orders (DPPOs) from the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
	Hounslow is working hard tackling areas where there are poor perceptions of ASB especially where "rubbish and litter is lying around" and "vandalism/graffiti" is concerned. Hounslow have done a lot of work in this area over the past year and are confident of having better results in the 2010 Place Survey.
	Another of Hounslow's CDRP pledges is to "introduce CCTV to more parts of the borough". They are providing a strategic community safety CCTV control room and roll out CCTV cameras in ten key sites across the borough.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk./

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Trafficking will next meet; and whether it plans to discuss the evaluation of its work on anti-trafficking responses in the UK.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The next meeting of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Trafficking is scheduled for 14 April 2010.
	The group routinely discusses work on anti-trafficking activities as part of its strategic oversight of the cross-Government UK Action Plan.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers have been stationed at postal hubs or depots in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: With the formation of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in April 2008, responsibility for staffing postal hubs and depots transferred from HM Revenue and Customs, to the UK Border Force.
	The United Kingdom's postal hubs and depots are located within the Central Border Force Region. It is Government policy to publish UKBA management information at a regional level, as location-specific information could provide value to those seeking to circumvent our controls.

Immigrants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of  (a) entering the UK in breach of a deportation order or without leave,  (b) remaining in the UK after leave to enter or remain had expired,  (c) assaulting an immigration officer and  (d) trafficking people for exploitation in each year since 1998; and how many offenders in each category received the maximum available prison sentence or fine in each year.

Alan Johnson: The information requested is not recorded by the UK Border Agency. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for data regarding convictions which result from cases brought on behalf of the Home Office.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained in immigration removal centres having been granted leave to remain in UK for a given period, broken down by  (a) sex,  (b) age and  (c) length of detention (i) prior to and (ii) following case determination.

Alan Johnson: The information requested is not available and could be provided only by examining individual records at disproportionate cost.
	Information on people detained in immigration removal centres is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	The latest information up to 31 December 2009 was published on 25 February 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 7 December 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. R. A. Ansari.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 10 February 2010.

Police

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) cautions,  (b) on-the-spot fines and  (c) formal warnings were issued by each police force in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Alan Campbell: The number of cautions, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued in each police force area in England and Wales is shown in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. Data on cautions and PNDs are currently available to 31 December 2008 and are compiled by calendar year. Data provided by Ministry of Justice.
	Cautions and court proceedings data for 2009 are expected to be published in the autumn, 2010.
	The only formal warning statistics that are collected centrally are cannabis warnings. Police forces have been able to issue a formal warning for possession of cannabis, known as a cannabis warning, since 1 April 2004. Statistics on cannabis warnings for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are given in table 3.
	Data provided by the Home Office.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of cautions( 1, 2)  issued for all offences in England and Wales, by police force area 2007 and 2008 
			  Police force area  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 10,807 10,045 
			 Bedfordshire 3,293 3,214 
			 Cambridgeshire 4,437 4,287 
			 Cheshire 4,812 4,799 
			 City of London 802 589 
			 Cleveland 5,397 5,604 
			 Cumbria 3,402 2,980 
			 Derbyshire 5,786 5,074 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10,209 9,321 
			 Dorset 3,850 3,686 
			 Durham 4,025 3,793 
			 Essex 14,369 10,499 
			 Gloucestershire 3,501 3,744 
			 Greater Manchester 13,123 11,404 
			 Hampshire 9,185 7,437 
			 Hertfordshire 6,526 6,490 
			 Humberside 5,982 5,252 
			 Kent 12,057 10,627 
			 Lancashire 12,573 10,797 
			 Leicestershire 5,589 4,480 
			 Lincolnshire 4,067 4,326 
			 Merseyside 6,464 7,077 
			 Metropolitan Police 48,904 50,021 
			 Norfolk 3,838 3,901 
			 North Yorkshire 3,616 3,289 
			 Northamptonshire 4,778 4,132 
			 Northumbria 15,897 14,639 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,910 6,790 
			 South Yorkshire 11,635 9,441 
			 Staffordshire 8,731 4,923 
			 Suffolk 4,311 4,093 
			 Surrey 5,652 4,157 
			 Sussex 11,518 8,495 
			 Thames Valley 13,543 12,420 
			 Warwickshire 3,838 3,225 
			 West Mercia 7,793 7,092 
			 West Midlands 21,582 20,968 
			 West Yorkshire 17,753 12,833 
			 Wiltshire 2,341 2,921 
			 England 344,896 308,865 
			 Dyfed-Powys 4,437 3,865 
			 Gwent 5,735 4,651 
			 North Wales 2,239 3,604 
			 South Wales 5,588 5,909 
			 Wales 17,999 18,029 
			 England and Wales 362,895 326,894 
			 (1) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (2) These cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to offenders of all ages, by police force area, all offences, 2004( 1) -08 England and Wales 
			  Police force area  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,950 3,145 
			 Bedfordshire 1,336 1,340 
			 British Transport police 4,867 4,479 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,249 2,065 
			 Cheshire 2,206 2,012 
			 City of London 415 217 
			 Cleveland 3,803 3,468 
			 Cumbria 1,650 1,099 
			 Derbyshire 2,730 2,380 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5,703 3,277 
			 Dorset 1,798 1,309 
			 Durham 1,839 1,786 
			 Essex 4,402 3,713 
			 Gloucestershire 2,330 918 
			 Greater Manchester 9,896 8,499 
			 Hampshire 6,005 3,854 
			 Hertfordshire 4,428 3,326 
			 Humberside 8,339 6,414 
			 Kent 7,960 8,403 
			 Lancashire 12,856 10,595 
			 Leicestershire 2,519 2,123 
			 Lincolnshire 1,758 1,284 
			 Merseyside 9,270 10,573 
			 Metropolitan 24,655 24,678 
			 Norfolk 1,560 2,038 
			 North Yorkshire 3,715 2,285 
			 Northamptonshire 2,377 1,517 
			 Northumbria 7,542 7,615 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,551 2,035 
			 South Yorkshire 7,983 7,403 
			 Staffordshire 2,967 2,526 
			 Suffolk 1,879 1,850 
			 Surrey 3,786 2,186 
			 Sussex 5,091 3,339 
			 Thames Valley 8,538 7,859 
			 Warwickshire 897 824 
			 West Mercia 2,914 2,568 
			 West Midlands 7,860 6,053 
			 West Yorkshire 6,002 3,393 
			 Wiltshire 1,203 1,958 
			 England 192,829 166,406 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 995 996 
			 Gwent 1,861 1,978 
			 North Wales 5,907 3,892 
			 South Wales 5,952 2,892 
			 Wales 14,715 9,758 
			 England and Wales 207,544 176,164 
			 (1) First year of PND scheme. Fully rolled out to all forces on 1 April 2004.  Note: The British Transport police started issuing PNDs on 1 March 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of cannabis warnings recorded as method of detection for possession of cannabis offences, by police force area in England and Wales, 2007- 08 -2008-09 
			  Police force area  2007-08  2008-09( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,554 2,598 
			 Bedfordshire 289 347 
			 British Transport Police 1,707 3,214 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,594 1,257 
			 Cheshire 757 1,109 
			 Cleveland 686 851 
			 Cumbria 218 272 
			 Derbyshire 520 600 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,380 1,571 
			 Dorset 393 349 
			 Durham 256 333 
			 Dyfed-Powys 882 794 
			 Essex 1,348 1,597 
			 Gloucestershire 459 529 
			 Greater Manchester 5,311 5,136 
			 Gwent 757 998 
			 Hampshire 2,260 1,943 
			 Hertfordshire 1,485 1,897 
			 Humberside 895 991 
			 Kent 846 1,276 
			 Lancashire 528 791 
			 Leicestershire 1,967 1,701 
			 Lincolnshire 508 491 
			 London, City of 436 506 
			 Merseyside 7,229 8,114 
			 Metropolitan police 46,979 47,204 
			 Norfolk 786 751 
			 Northamptonshire 311 439 
			 Northumbria 916 1,459 
			 North Wales 985 1,059 
			 North Yorkshire 701 665 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,210 950 
			 South Wales 2,414 2,220 
			 South Yorkshire 1,296 1,627 
			 Staffordshire 1,150 1,153 
			 Suffolk 599 744 
			 Surrey 993 811 
			 Sussex 2,447 1,369 
			 Thames Valley 2,753 2,518 
			 Warwickshire 399 342 
			 West Mercia 756 872 
			 West Midlands 2,286 2,229 
			 West Yorkshire 1,340 1,245 
			 Wiltshire 218 329 
			 England and Wales 103,804 107,251 
			 (1 )Since 26 January 2009, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) can be given for cannabis possession. Up to the end of March 2009 such PNDs were counted together with cannabis warnings.

Police: Information and Communications Technology

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the number of hand held ICT devices used by police officers to receive information from and transmit information to police stations.

David Hanson: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The total number of hand held ICT devices in use by frontline police officers as at 26 February 2010 is 42,824.

Police: Manpower

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to increase the number of frontline police officers in England and Wales in the next five years.

Alan Johnson: The Government's priority is to protect the frontline and maintain a focus on increasing public confidence in the police service and achieving improvements in value for money. To support this the Government made clear in the pre-Budget report last December that it will provide sufficient funding in the next comprehensive spending review to enable police authorities to maintain current numbers of police officers, police community support officers and other staff exercising police powers in the years to 2012-13.
	The decision on the number and mix of frontline officers and other staff that will best serve the public is an operational matter for individual chief constables and police authorities to determine.

Police: Pay

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) median and  (b) mean salary of a police constable in each police force was in (i) cash and (ii) real terms in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: This information is not held centrally.

Prisoners: Deportation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners were removed from the UK in each of the past 10 years.

Alan Johnson: The information requested in respect of foreign nationals removed from the UK prior to 2007 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Published figures for the UK Border Agency show that around 15,000 foreign nationals were removed or deported over the last three years.
	This information is taken from Internal Management Information and is subject to change.

Sandwell

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the borough of Sandwell, the effects on that borough of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office has introduced a range of policies and initiatives since 2000. However, it is not always possible to quantify their effects particularly at constituency level. The available statistical information therefore relates to the Sandwell Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area.
	In terms of police recorded crime in Sandwell, between 2002-03 and 2008-09, total recorded crime fell by 41 per cent. More specifically:
	Violence against the person-down 20 per cent.
	Sexual offences-down 32 per cent.
	Robbery-down 23 per cent.
	Burglary-down 52 per cent.
	Offences against vehicles-down 54 per cent.
	Other theft offences-down 31 per cent.
	Criminal damage-down 31 per cent.
	Drug offences-up 37 per cent. (there has been increased recording of drug offences which was mainly attributable to the increased use of police powers to issue cannabis warnings).
	Data prior to 2002-03 are not directly comparable because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002.
	Sandwell comes within the West Midlands K1 and K2 Basic Command Units, which had 717 police officers as at 30 March 2009. The number of police officers has increased by 32 since 2003. Comparisons with 1997 for West Midlands K1 and K2 BCUs are not available. There were 78 police community support officers as at 30 March 2009 while there were none in existence in 1997.
	The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 saw positive effects with the statutory duty to create a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP). The CDRP has enabled new ways of working in a cross cutting way with the police, council and other key stakeholders to help tackle complex issues.
	The Sandwell CDRP is well established and continues with good results in terms of tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB) and reducing crime and disorder.
	Before 1997 there were no bespoke powers to tackle antisocial behaviour but there are now a range of powers to deal with this issue. These include antisocial behaviour orders and designated public places orders (DPPO) from the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and as a result of their good work, Sandwell has been designated as an ASB Pioneer Area. The CDRP has also been instrumental in setting up an ASB Helpline in the borough; to date this has received 31,598 calls.
	In 2008, the UK's first 'no rogue trader' zone was set up Sandwell, this is a borough-wide initiative between the police and trading standards to raise awareness of rogue trader tricks and encourage residents to report all suspicious activity.
	Through the CDRP an award winning domestic violence partnership (Sandwell Organisation Against Domestic Abuse) was set up in 2006 which had received 12,017 referrals in total up to March 2009.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk./

Telephone Tapping: Newspaper Press

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010,  Official Report, columns 701-02W, on telephone tapping, how many individuals have been warned by the Metropolitan Police Service about the possible illegal interception of their communications since July 2009; how many such individuals are in the  (a) police,  (b) military,  (c) government and  (d) royal category; and how many individuals were so contacted during the investigation which preceded the arrests of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire in August 2006.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 1 March 2010
	Further to my answer to the hon. Member on 11 January 2010,  Official Report, column 702W, where information exists to suggest some form of interception of an individual's phone was or may have been attempted by Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has taken all necessary steps to ensure those individuals have been informed.
	The MPS is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of those who may have been subject to illegal interception of their communications. The MPS considers that breaking down the small number of individuals contacted would undermine this commitment.

United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff  (a) have been and  (b) are seconded to work in the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre from (i) the Police, (ii) the UK Border Agency, (iii) the Prison Service, (iv) the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, (v) HM Revenue and Customs/UK Border Force, (vi) non-governmental organisations, (vii) social services and (viii) each other organisation.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 1 March 2010
	There have been 46 posts filled on secondment from the organisations listed above with 38 posts currently filled. The figures by agency are as shown in the table:
	
		
			   Total secondment posts  Currently seconded staff 
			 Police civilian staff 25 23 
			 Police officers 5  
			 UKBA 5 3 
			 SOCA 5 4 
			 HMRC/UKBF 1 1 
			 NGOs 3 1 
			 Social Services 1 0 
			 Other organisations (Crown Prosecution Service) 1 1 
		
	
	There are no staff seconded from the Prison Service.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

British Nuclear Fuels: Pay

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the salary was of the Chief Executive of British Nuclear Fuels plc in 2009.

David Kidney: In 2009, the salary of the Chief Executive of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd was £447,185.In addition he received £44,718 to be used at his own discretion to fund pension contributions.

Climatic Research Unit

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department has provided to the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit in each of the last five years.

Joan Ruddock: Since the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was formed in October 2008, it has not provided any funding to the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

Departmental Thefts

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many thefts from his Department have been recorded since its inception.

Joan Ruddock: The Department has recorded three thefts since its inception.

Energy: Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support the  (a) Energy Savings Trust and  (b) Carbon Trust has provided to the residents of Stroud constituency in each year since 2004.

Joan Ruddock: The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is currently overseeing the Pay as You Save (PAYS) trials for DECC in which Stroud district council is participating.
	EST's services are available to all UK citizens. These include a free telephone advice service (the Act on CO2 Advice Line in England) which offers callers advice on energy saving behaviour, how to make our homes more energy efficient, energy efficient products, low carbon energy, sustainable travel, efficient use of water, and waste minimisation. Advice and self-help tools are also available through EST's web advice services.
	The Carbon Trust (CT) provides specialist support to business and the public sector to help cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies.
	It is not possible to provide a funding breakdown at a constituency level for EST and CT support.

Environment Protection: Employment

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of the 1.2 million green jobs the Government plans to create by 2020 which are likely to be in Scotland.

Joan Ruddock: The figure of 1.2 million green jobs in the UK is an estimate of the potential growth in employment by 2014-15 based on an analysis of the Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) sector (Innovas, March 2009, "Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: An Industry Analysis").
	While the Innovas study calculates that there were 73,000 people in the LCEGS sector in Scotland in 2007-08, it does not provide estimates of employment numbers at a country level in 2014-15.

Feed-in Tariffs

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department holds information for benchmarking purposes on feed-in-tariff schemes on other EU member states.

Joan Ruddock: The 'Report on Qualitative Issues in the Design of the GB Feed in Tariffs', prepared for the Department by Element Energy and Poyry Energy Consulting, contains that information and can be found on the DECC website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx

Natural Gas :Storage

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review Lancashire County Council's recent decision to refuse planning permission for additional gas storage capacity in that area.

David Kidney: Lancashire county council refused planning permission for the Canatxx gas storage project at Preesall on 27 January 2010. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change cannot review the case. The applicant may ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for a determination on appeal.

Nuclear Power Stations

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the merits of pebble-bed technology in the design of new nuclear reactors.

David Kidney: In line with the reactor designs currently being assessed by the regulators through the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process, any new nuclear reactors built over the next 10-15 years will be Generation III designs. These designs are already available commercially. The pebble bed reactor is a Generation IV plus design that is not yet available commercially and has not been considered as part of the GDA process.

Warm Front Scheme

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints  (a) his Department and  (b) Eaga have received in relation to (i) the installation and (ii) failure of boilers installed under the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five years.

David Kidney: The level of information requested in relation to complaints received by the Department is available for the period August to November 2009. During that time 421 expressions of dissatisfaction were received about a range of issues, of these, 80 cases relate to the quality of installation. The Department does not categorise complaints about boiler failure caused by manufacturing faults.
	The following table shows the number of complaints received by eaga with regard to (i) boiler installation and (ii) boiler or system failure in each year under the present phase of the Scheme (since 2005). The number of upheld complaints (complaints where a clear service failure has been identified) is shown alongside these figures.
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1)  Total 
			 Complaints -Installation 382 975 1,220 1,800 1,429 5,806 
			 Upheld 29 78 47 185 174 513 
			 Complaints -Boiler/System failure 232 665 994 998 739 3,628 
			 Upheld 92 269 303 267 203 1,134 
			 (1) Data run to 4 February 2010

WALES

Future Jobs Fund: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which companies in Wales have made successful applications to the Future Jobs Fund; how many jobs have been created in respect of each application; when the jobs enabled by each application were advertised; and how many such vacancies have been filled.

Peter Hain: The following organisations were successful in bidding for Future Jobs Fund money in Wales, with the number of jobs expected to be created in brackets:
	Groundwork (240 jobs);
	Rhyl City Strategy (322 jobs);
	Cardiff City Council (289 jobs);
	Hyfforddiant Ceredigion Training (100 jobs);
	Pembrokeshire County Council (170 jobs);
	Vale of Glamorgan Council (96 jobs);
	Powys Partnership Future Jobs Fund (63 jobs);
	City of Swansea's Employability Training (1,320 jobs);
	Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (75 jobs);
	WCVA (2,500 jobs);
	Merthyr Tydfil Council (3,519 jobs);
	Interlink (120 jobs);
	Carmarthenshire County Council (291 jobs);
	Neath Port Talbot County Council (288 jobs);
	Newport Future Jobs Fund Partnership (472 jobs);
	Coalfields Regeneration Trust (80 jobs).
	These bids will bring a total of 9,945 jobs to Wales over the next 18 months.
	Advertisement and recruitment into these positions is an ongoing process. Statistics for the number of starts are not yet available but are being collated by the Department for Work and Pensions.

JUSTICE

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Michael Wills: Throughout the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as part of our continuing efforts to reduce energy consumption, staff are regularly reminded to turn off computers, monitors and other electrical equipment, unplug mobile phone chargers and switch off lights when rooms are not in use. As the 2010 Earth Hour event is on Saturday 27 March, many of our buildings will be unoccupied. The MoJ HQ estate will participate through contractors turning off any lighting not required and ensuring meeting room co-ordinators check video link screens and televisions are not left on standby.
	The MoJ will publicise the Earth Hour event to staff through the staff Intranet.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years.

Michael Wills: The Department records theft and other losses, but does not separately distinguish between the two for reporting purposes. The centrally recorded thefts and losses during the last two financial years for the Department and its predecessor, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (created in May 2007), including its agencies and other offices, are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 116 
			 2008-09 203 
		
	
	The number of such cases involving theft could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This detail is recorded in individual incident records held locally by the Department's various agencies and other business areas. The increase in the number of incidents is believed to be due to the increased awareness of the requirement for reporting, arising from the Data Handling Review.

Ex-Servicemen: Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether people  (a) whose date of birth was unavailable,  (b) sent to prison before 1979 and  (c) who had been reservists counted for the purposes of his Department's determination of the number of veterans in jails in England and Wales.

Maria Eagle: The methodology used by Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) to estimate the proportion of armed forces veterans in prison was published on the DASA website:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=3&thiscontent=540&PublishTime =16:00:00&date=2010-01-25&disText=Single %20Report&from=listing&topDate=2010-01-25
	on 25 January 2010.
	The report describes in some length and detail who was contained in databases held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the variables used in the matching process and the advantages and disadvantages of the approach taken.
	As date of birth was a required variable only those records that contained a date of birth were used. This amounted to around 81,000 valid records from the prison database and around 1.3 million valid records from the MOD database.
	The date of the prison population extract taken to inform the matching work was 6 November 2009. If a person sent to prison before 1979 was still in prison on this date then their record would have been used in the matching process.
	Reservists were not included in the matching process.

Ex-Servicemen: Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether people  (a) whose first name was unavailable,  (b) under the age of 18 years,  (c) who had changed their names on marriage and  (d) known to use aliases were counted for the purposes of his Department's determination of the number of service veterans in prison;
	(2)  what the prison population was when his Department made its determination of the number of service veterans in the prison system;
	(3)  what his most recent estimate is of the number of service veterans in HM Prison  (a) Manchester,  (b) Durham and  (c) Everthorpe;
	(4)  what his most recent estimate is of the number of service veterans under the supervision of the probation service on  (a) court orders and  (b) parole.

Maria Eagle: The methodology used by Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) to estimate the proportion of Armed Forces veterans in prison was published on the DASA website
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=3&thiscontent=540&Publish Time=16:00:00&date=2010-01-25&disText=Single %20Report&from=listing&topDate=2010-01-25
	on 25 January 2010.
	The report describes in some length and detail who was contained in databases held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the variables used in the matching process and the advantages and disadvantages of the approach taken.
	The date of the prison population extract taken to inform this work was 6 November 2009. The total number of people in prison in England and Wales was 84,522. However, as only sentenced and remand prisoners aged 18 and over were matched, the denominator used was 81,071. Non criminal prisoners and those aged under 18 were excluded from the matching process.
	No estimate of veterans in individual prisons has been made because this was outside the scope of the project.
	The MoD and MoJ are currently working to estimate the proportion of armed forces veterans under the supervision of the Probation Service. Results will be published when complete.

Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 apply to documents relating to the administrative duties conducted on behalf of HM Courts Service by  (a) the Lord Chief Justice,  (b) the Master of the Rolls and  (c) other judges;
	(2)  whether his Department accepts legal responsibility for the custody and control of documents relating to the administrative duties conducted on behalf of HM Courts Service by  (a) the Lord Chief Justice,  (b) the Master of the Rolls and  (c) other judges.

Michael Wills: Members of the judiciary do not carry out administrative duties on behalf of HM Court Service. There are accordingly no documents relating to such duties.
	The Department does hold some information created by the judiciary in the course of discharging their judicial functions, and there may be occasions when the judiciary hold information on behalf of the Department. The Department's legal obligations in respect of such information under the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Public Records Act 1958 will depend on the facts of any given case.

Juries

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people summoned for jury service in Milton Keynes declined to carry out their service for each reason in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people  (a) were summoned for and  (b) undertook jury service in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows, on a national level basis for each calendar year from 2000 to 2008, the following:
	(a) how many people have been required for jury service
	(b) how many people have been supplied to the court for jury service
	(c) how many people have been deferred from the original date they were summoned for jury service
	(d) how many people have been excused from jury service
	(e) how many people have been disqualified from jury service.
	The Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB) is not able to supply the information for Milton Keynes as the data cannot be extracted in this way by the computer system.
	Data are organised under postal catchment areas to different Crown courts. Therefore residents from Milton Keynes could be summoned to either Aylesbury or Luton Crown court, which also covers other postal area's.
	Members of the public summoned for jury service cannot decline to carry out jury service. However, a juror can apply to defer their jury service to a more suitable date within the forthcoming 12-month period if the original date is not convenient. Jurors can apply to be excused from jury service but their application must show good cause why they should be excused from attending.
	
		
			   Calendar year end 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Total number of summons issues 79,115 579,473 492,561 461,980 431,432 388,154 390,671 412,666 416,689 
			 Total number of jurors supplied to the court 24,907 187,080 197,599 184,833 187,114 185,193 181,966 182,661 183,506 
			   
			 Deferred to serve at a later date 8,860 61,435 59,786 59,528 65,754 63,741 61,254 66,174 66,806 
			 Number refused deferral 22 214 297 340 288 286 172 122 103 
			   
			  Excused  
			 by right having served in past two years 4,700 32,368 29,120 28,247 14,887 4,333 4,277 4,518 4,244 
			 child care 3,410 27,685 26,281 24,327 19,497 15,741 15,690 16,118 15,711 
			 work commitments 2,781 26,640 25,628 19,373 14,961 14,419 15,998 16,428 16,857 
			 medical 5,650 44,435 40,982 35,061 34,016 32,239 30,332 32,416 31,289 
			 travel difficulties 186 2,394 1,811 1,110 813 672 720 651 690 
			 student 736 5,468 5,899 3,979 2,438 2,150 2,209 2,273 2,429 
			 moved from area 1,549 11,073 6,254 3,419 2,498 2,181 2,454 2,988 2,543 
			 language difficulties 849 5,921 5,928 5,260 4,975 4,081 4,030 4,406 4,165 
			 other 2,521 20,678 22,354 22,400 23,103 21,658 24,126 27,784 30,606 
			 All excused 22,382 176,662 164,257 143,176 117,188 97,474 99,836 107,582 108,534 
			 Number refused excusal 421 2,494 1,927 3,453 4,344 3,585 2,053 1,641 1,515 
			   
			 Disqualified-residency, mental disorders, criminality 15,248 118,339 105,314 98,045 89,112 77,364 85,061 94,171 96,325 
			 Disqualified-on selection 5,989 48,271 59,892 58,830 55,410 49,765 53,031 58,900 59,017 
			 Disqualified-failed Police National Computer (PNC) check 0 69 160 139 148 193 185 207 225

Juries: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people resident in the London Borough of Bexley  (a) were summoned for and  (b) undertook jury service in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows, on a national level basis for each calendar year from 2000 to 2008, the following:
	(a) how many people have been required for jury service;
	(b) how many people have been supplied to the court for jury service;
	(c) how many people have been deferred from the original date they were summoned for jury service;
	(d) how many people have been excused from jury service;
	(e) how many people have been disqualified from jury service.
	Information for each London borough is not held centrally as the information cannot be extracted in this way by the computer system. Residents from the London borough of Bexley could be summoned to one of five different court locations which also cover other postal areas.
	
		
			   Calendar year end 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Total number of summons issues 79,115 579,473 492,561 461,980 431,432 388,154 390,671 412,666 416,689 
			 Total number of jurors supplied to the court 24,907 187,080 197,599 184,833 187,114 185,193 181,966 182,661 183,506 
			   
			 Deferred to serve at a later date 8,60 61,435 59,786 59,528 65,754 63,741 61,254 66,174 66,806 
			 Number refused deferral 22 214 297 340 288 286 172 122 103 
			   
			 Excused-by right having served in past two years 4,700 32,368 29,120 28,247 14,887 4,333 4,277 4,518 4,244 
			 Excused-child care 3,410 27,685 26,281 24,327 19,497 15,741 15,690 16,118 15,711 
			 Excused-work commitments 2,781 26,640 25,628 19,373 14,961 14,419 15,998 16,428 16,857 
			 Excused-medical 5,650 44,435 40,982 35,061 34,016 32,239 30,332 32,416 31,289 
			 Excused-travel difficulties 186 2,394 1,811 1,110 813 672 720 651 690 
			 Excused-student 736 5,468 5,899 3,979 2,438 2,150 2,209 2,273 2,429 
			 Excused-moved from area 1,549 11,073 6,254 3,419 2,498 2,181 2,454 2,988 2,543 
			 Excused-language difficulties 849 5,921 5,928 5,260 4,975 4,081 4,030 4,406 4,165 
			 Excused-other 2,521 20,678 22,354 22,400 23,103 21,658 24,126 27,784 30,606 
			 All excused 22,382 176,662 164,257 143,176 117,188 97,474 99,836 107,582 108,534 
			 Number refused excusal 421 2,494 1,927 3,453 4,344 3,585 2,053 1,641 1,515 
			   
			 Disqualified-residency, mental disorders, criminality 15,248 118,339 105,314 98,045 89,112 77,364 85,061 94,171 96,325 
			 Disqualified-on selection 5,989 48,271 59,892 58,830 55,410 49,765 53,031 58,900 59,017 
			 Disqualified-failed Police National Computer (PNC) check 0 69 160 139 148 193 185 207 225

Legal Aid

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal aid  (a) matter starts and  (b) claims registered there were in each of the smallest data areas in each year since 2005-06.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Legal help cases started and claims made 2005-06 to 2008-09 
			   Year 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Procurement area  Case starts  Volume of claims received  Case starts  Volume of claims received  Case starts  Volume of claims received  Case starts  Volume of claims received 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,427 2,297 2,364 2,382 2,061 1,853 2,543 2,275 
			 Barnet 2,949 3,955 2,582 3,126 2,475 2,773 3,736 3,113 
			 Barnsley 2,208 2,252 2,425 2,484 1,993 2,722 2,523 2,405 
			 Bedfordshire 5,535 5,392 6,239 5,727 5,590 5,133 5,460 5,309 
			 Berkshire 6,750 5,949 6,348 5,926 4,891 4,791 5,644 4,993 
			 Bexley 1,205 1,377 882 1,141 951 1,208 1,415 1,459 
			 Birmingham 23,968 25,220 23,680 24,379 23,989 22,812 26,069 26,698 
			 Bolton 2,566 2,614 3,863 3,642 4,112 4,012 4,229 4,022 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 3,143 3,598 3,130 3,350 2,446 2,590 3,590 3,193 
			 Bradford 8,110 8,682 7,055 7,315 7,099 6,771 7,112 7,011 
			 Brent 9,726 13,685 9,438 14,027 8,869 12,691 9,317 10,602 
			 Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale 12,277 11,612 13,087 13,373 13,364 12,274 13,589 12,768 
			 Bromley 1,727 1,603 1,787 1,894 1,734 1,554 1,527 1,378 
			 Buckinghamshire 5,183 5,179 5,139 5,525 5,209 5,026 5,472 5,830 
			 Bury 1,650 1,542 1,952 1,911 1,855 1,830 2,333 2,169 
			 Calderdale 1,614 1,624 1,694 1,591 1,747 1,662 2,394 2,146 
			 Cambridgeshire 7,921 7,688 8,402 8,210 8,806 8,964 10,095 9,487 
			 Camden 12,665 13,556 11,998 12,692 11,840 12,946 13,134 13,030 
			 Central Wales 2,292 2,077 2,223 2,237 2,041 1,754 2,222 2,181 
			 Cheshire 5,774 5,349 6,743 6,290 6,506 6,479 7,311 6,693 
			 City of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset 12,094 12,096 12,795 13,016 12,125 12,801 12,782 12,216 
			 City of Derby 4,968 4,187 4,436 4,349 4,424 4,675 2,928 2,962 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 4,889 4,645 4,653 4,808 3,926 4,318 3,703 3,831 
			 City of Leicester 5,007 6,339 4,592 4,687 5,112 5,105 4,552 3,982 
			 City of Plymouth 4,761 4,526 4,823 4,862 4,082 4,470 4,809 4,716 
			 City of Stoke-on-Trent 4,496 4,714 4,144 4,761 4,025 4,385 4,754 4,495 
			 City of Westminster 4,954 5,129 5,346 5,081 4,845 5,106 3,290 4,346 
			 City of Wolverhampton 4,392 4,109 4,438 4,482 4,649 4,257 5,035 4,856 
			 Cornwall 7,786 6,615 6,891 6,661 6,845 7,068 7,099 6,906 
			 Coventry 4,901 5,470 4,673 6,021 4,213 3,664 4,271 3,755 
			 Croydon 3,255 3,347 3,546 3,922 3,129 3,381 4,223 3,698 
			 Cumbria 7,119 5,762 7,617 6,808 6,761 6,870 6,997 6,889 
			 Darlington 1,728 1,682 2,006 1,951 1,880 1,897 1,795 2,082 
			 Devon 9,459 9,440 9,774 9,325 8,663 9,016 9,791 9,312 
			 Doncaster 4,368 4,037 6,006 5,707 5,556 5,975 6,064 6,311 
			 Dorset 2,723 2,545 2,866 2,724 2,639 2,834 2,829 2,639 
			 Dudley 2,881 3,140 2,592 2,691 2,182 2,211 2,486 2,402 
			 Durham 6,469 5,893 6,674 6,546 6,543 6,485 7,043 6,537 
			 Ealing 8,640 13,057 14,527 13,939 11,736 13,058 13,599 13,207 
			 East Essex 8,053 6,525 7,735 7,442 8,000 7,252 7,588 7,103 
			 East Lancashire 8,699 8,804 9,225 9,245 7,911 7,820 8,058 7,586 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 942 927 945 900 1,024 874 920 854 
			 East Sussex 5,182 5,272 5,458 5,134 5,619 5,450 6,575 6,149 
			 Enfield 3,393 3,531 3,055 3,563 2,859 2,956 2,525 2,432 
			 Gateshead 3,925 4,758 4,640 6,779 3,802 4,839 3,695 4,663 
			 Gloucestershire 4,471 4,967 5,253 4,615 4,687 5,450 5,610 5,359 
			 Greater Nottingham 11,098 11,256 11,147 10,687 11,115 10,250 10,860 11,169 
			 Greenwich 2,302 2,941 2,461 2,158 2,209 2,111 2,503 2,171 
			 Hackney and City of London 16,158 20,821 14,707 17,408 15,610 17,044 16,370 17,963 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,525 7,012 5,401 6,939 3,664 6,318 3,760 5,235 
			 Hampshire 6,418 6,569 6,274 6,385 5,810 6,120 6,736 6,435 
			 Haringey 7,055 10,524 6,901 9,901 5,944 7,329 8,141 7,735 
			 Harrow 3,351 5,012 3,443 3,486 4,537 4,287 6,288 5,301 
			 Hartlepool 2,173 2,725 2,173 2,287 2,212 2,197 2,508 2,337 
			 Havering 944 1,034 1,295 1,167 1,138 1,307 1,928 1,575 
			 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 5,488 5,441 5,597 5,573 5,165 5,450 6,019 5,784 
			 Hillingdon 652 785 856 1,059 1,312 1,509 2,111 1,760 
			 Hounslow 2,219 2,657 1,128 1,098 1,425 1,112 1,302 1,329 
			 Islington 8,680 10,613 9,140 9,807 7,923 8,559 7,443 8,316 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,954 4,577 4,514 5,119 4,064 5,158 5,422 5,545 
			 Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames 1,166 1,084 1,382 1,403 1,784 1,485 1,872 1,604 
			 Kirklees 5,767 5,373 5,554 5,299 5,695 5,712 5,916 5,805 
			 Knowsley 3,000 2,812 3,043 2,777 2,948 3,174 2,400 2,731 
			 Lambeth 7,203 7,319 7,258 7,528 5,747 5,881 6,307 6,156 
			 Leeds 9,418 10,024 9,925 10,356 11,872 9,805 14,286 14,966 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland 2,888 2,805 3,282 3,358 3,375 3,563 3,732 4,192 
			 Lewisham 2,795 2,569 2,541 3,134 1,567 1,636 2,073 1,949 
			 Lincolnshire 8,324 8,069 8,388 8,581 8,279 7,750 7,902 7,824 
			 Liverpool 17,380 17,642 19,526 18,197 19,595 19,383 19,481 19,820 
			 Manchester 10,534 11,940 10,695 10,778 10,718 9,820 12,043 11,674 
			 Merton and Sutton 1,903 1,271 2,398 2,402 3,084 2,787 2,721 2,889 
			 Mid and South West Kent 3,284 3,191 3,979 3,400 3,726 3,366 5,158 4,419 
			 Middlesbrough 4,200 4,904 4,337 4,516 3,617 3,898 3,719 4,176 
			 Neath Port Talbot and Swansea 9,346 9,063 9,870 8,967 9,488 8,677 10,849 10,044 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 6,976 7,386 7,853 7,781 7,230 7,295 7,714 7,871 
			 Newham 11,319 13,579 12,387 12,333 11,926 10,756 11,322 10,676 
			 Norfolk 9,091 9,267 10,353 8,899 10,341 9,317 12,984 11,639 
			 North Derbyshire 3,436 3,552 3,818 3,645 3,372 3,336 3,664 3,582 
			 North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire 5,100 4,524 4,600 4,872 4,281 4,579 4,931 4,512 
			 North East Wales 6,353 6,380 5,266 5,180 5,757 4,996 5,636 5,228 
			 North Hertfordshire 2,321 2,512 2,340 2,348 2,553 2,488 3,324 3,080 
			 North Kent and Medway 4,554 4,482 4,668 4,622 4,864 4,673 6,230 5,627 
			 North Nottinghamshire 6,318 6,758 6,036 6,060 6,444 6,365 6,596 6,058 
			 North Tyneside 4,616 4,516 4,669 4,557 4,524 4,073 4,917 4,516 
			 North West Wales 3,176 2,803 3,157 2,928 2,943 2,664 3,241 2,959 
			 North Yorkshire 5,052 4,721 5,687 5,213 5,188 5,408 5,746 5,221 
			 Northamptonshire 5,636 5,024 5,776 5,168 5,530 5,226 7,000 6,199 
			 Northumberland 5,795 5,193 4,987 5,335 4,863 4,752 5,524 4,952 
			 Oldham 3,213 3,000 3,554 3,189 3,110 3,355 3,989 3,576 
			 Oxfordshire 5,417 5,318 5,144 5,500 6,317 5,420 6,890 6,744 
			 Portsmouth and Isle of Wight 5,566 5,209 5,262 5,461 4,641 4,970 4,047 4,180 
			 Redbridge 2,045 3,164 2,315 2,377 1,748 1,551 2,317 1,988 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,926 2,772 2,952 3,007 3,104 2,848 2,909 2,777 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil 4,146 4,071 4,101 4,108 4,799 4,333 4,764 4,504 
			 Rochdale 3,317 3,304 2,887 3,037 2,723 2,711 2,790 2,748 
			 Rotherham 3,005 3,453 3,224 3,792 3,725 3,462 3,968 3,700 
			 Salford 6,408 7,842 7,486 6,108 7,761 7,323 7,475 8,197 
			 Sandwell 2,487 2,710 2,662 2,776 2,607 2,476 3,039 3,260 
			 Sefton 3,079 2,861 3,426 2,923 3,086 2,991 3,954 3,573 
			 Sheffield 9,174 9,656 10,008 9,770 9,537 9,175 10,629 11,139 
			 Shropshire 6,000 6,034 6,001 6,137 5,828 5,770 6,114 5,856 
			 Solihull 998 900 1,072 1,038 921 945 1,290 1,268 
			 Somerset 6,673 6,820 7,045 7,935 6,598 7,178 7,637 7,416 
			 South Derbyshire 1,728 1,738 2,064 1,637 1,867 1,625 1,657 1,451 
			 South East Wales 9,438 8,635 10,107 9,594 9,123 8,703 10,014 9,915 
			 South Hertfordshire 2,935 5,713 2,364 4,845 1,966 1,925 3,061 2,413 
			 South Tyneside 2,686 2,207 2,802 2,669 2,652 2,352 3,100 2,793 
			 South West Wales 3,900 3,564 4,489 3,987 4,357 3,962 4,386 3,761 
			 Southampton 2,298 2,148 2,709 2,431 3,133 2,333 2,829 3,006 
			 Southwark 8,988 8,530 9,520 10,055 11,228 9,277 11,759 10,536 
			 St. Helens 4,424 4,249 4,809 4,664 5,856 4,840 5,385 5,323 
			 Staffordshire 5,427 5,029 5,848 5,581 5,750 5,915 5,492 5,379 
			 Stockport 2,319 2,030 2,788 2,326 3,003 2,443 3,039 2,924 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 3,641 3,820 3,951 3,979 3,647 3,754 4,252 4,073 
			 Suffolk 5,223 5,390 4,958 5,046 4,769 5,427 5,582 5,242 
			 Sunderland 5,757 5,571 6,306 5,524 5,484 5,272 5,756 5,505 
			 Surrey 2,107 1,907 2,215 2,060 1,824 1,909 2,874 2,561 
			 Tameside 2,206 2,185 2,272 2,406 2,034 1,613 1,982 1,919 
			 The City of Brighton and Hove 5,359 5,142 5,823 5,685 5,380 5,278 5,355 5,071 
			 The Kent Coast 5,818 6,326 6,616 6,134 6,006 6,409 7,814 7,286 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,788 9,816 8,711 9,857 11,030 9,798 14,339 14,526 
			 Trafford 1,083 1,077 1,996 1,460 1,932 1,753 2,914 2,677 
			 Wakefield 4,100 4,202 4,348 4,287 3,948 3,728 3,809 3,587 
			 Walsall 4,720 4,874 5,055 5,028 4,332 4,200 4,483 4,171 
			 Waltham Forest 1,913 2,019 2,235 2,116 2,328 2,157 2,379 2,292 
			 Wandsworth 6,162 8,295 4,961 5,660 5,626 6,125 7,146 6,920 
			 Warrington and Halton 3,634 3,575 3,494 3,681 3,456 3,429 3,525 3,446 
			 Warwickshire 3,329 3,340 3,520 3,379 3,240 3,499 3,627 3,518 
			 West Essex 6,581 7,016 7,397 7,570 7,565 7,831 8,575 8,393 
			 West Lancashire 10,660 10,242 11,321 10,791 10,875 10,499 11,107 10,520 
			 West Sussex 3,521 3,614 4,103 4,094 4,432 4,607 4,921 5,036 
			 Wigan 4,290 4,500 4,263 4,261 4,452 4,318 5,151 4,631 
			 Wiltshire 4,903 5,457 5,540 5,631 5,549 5,513 7,152 6,752 
			 Wirral 9,062 7,444 8,057 8,182 8,608 7,928 8,512 8,743 
			 TOTALS 713,667 744,267 740,334 751,730 720,211 716,608 785,204 764,370

Probation: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the management structure will be of the All-Wales Probation Trust.

Maria Eagle: An interim management structure has been implemented in preparation for transition to trust status, which is as follows. This is based on the proposed structure put forward in the application for trust status. The final structure would be a matter for the trust's board and its chief executive when appointed.
	 Trust Board
	Chief Executive
	Director for Interventions and Business; Development Director for Resources; Director for Local Delivery
	10 Local Delivery Unit Heads.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Energy

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government Equalities Office plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010.

Michael Jabez Foster: GEO's offices are in a Communities and Local Government building and will be subject to any response CLG makes to Earth Hour.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many designs for its website the Government Equalities Office has commissioned since its inception.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities has commissioned two designs for its website since its inception in October 2007.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff in the  (a) Government Equalities Office and  (b) Equality and Human Rights Commission have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last three years.  [Official Report, 15 March 2010, Vol. 507, c. 19-20MC.]

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office does not hold information on sickness absence from before October 2007. Since October 2008, no staff in the Government Equalities Office have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days.
	Four staff in the Equality and Human Rights Commission have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last three years.

Public Meetings

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many public meetings the Government Equalities Office has held in each year since its inception.

Michael Jabez Foster: No annual figures are kept but since its establishment in October 2007, the GEO has held the following public meetings:
	consultations on the Equality Bill (8);
	Women in Focus events, which promoted the use of the gender equality duty and aimed to improved outcomes for women offenders (10);
	events that form part of the campaign to promote public appointments (29);
	the Black And Minority Ethnic Women Councillor's Taskforce events (16); and
	roundtable events to discuss the National Equality Framework (5).

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what reports have been received of the names of the 27 civilians killed by NATO action in Uruzgan province on 21 February 2010;
	(2)  what reports have been received of the names of the five civilians killed by NATO action in Kandahar on 15 February 2010;
	(3)  what reports have been received of the names of the 12 civilians killed by NATO action in Marjah on 14 February 2010 during Operation Moshtarak.

Bob Ainsworth: The International Security Assistance Force, of which the UK are an integral part, is deeply saddened by any incident involving civilian deaths. However, these incidents occurred outside of the UK area of operations and no UK forces were involved. In light of this, and the ongoing investigations into the incidents, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.

Armed Forces

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) hon. Members and  (b) Members of the House of Lords responded in writing to the inquiry into national recognition of the armed forces undertaken by the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford.

Kevan Jones: All those who were officially consulted by the inquiry team into National Recognition of the Armed Forces are named in the final report, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Given that all other contributions were provided voluntarily by individuals on the understanding that they would be treated in confidence, it would be inappropriate for the Government to release their names.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost in 2009-10 to his Department of the changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme announced on 10 February 2010.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 22 February 2010
	 The Ministry of Defence (MOD) accounts for the liabilities arising from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme on an accruals basis, which means that the full life-time value of awards is set aside in the year in which the injury, illness or death occurred, even though payments may be made through the Guaranteed Income Payments over an individual's lifetime. Details of the existing liabilities can be found in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme resource accounts which are placed in the Library of the House.
	The MOD has estimated that the additional liabilities arising from the changes proposed in the review would be between around £30 million and £40 million per annum. These liabilities would be met from within existing provision in the Defence budget.
	The liabilities (or cost) in 2009-10 do not arise until the necessary legislative amendments to the scheme are actually in place. The accounts in the financial year in which the legislation is made will reflect the change in liabilities arising from the review.

Armed Forces: Leave

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving members of the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force have taken (i) maternity and (ii) paternity leave in the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: The number of armed forces personnel who have taken either maternity or paternity leave, during the period 25 February 2009 until 24 February 2010, broken down by service is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Absence type  Army  RAF  Navy  Grand total 
			 Maternity 760 500 280 1,540 
			 Paternity 950 850 220 2,020 
			  Note: When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Due to the rounding the sum of the component parts may not equal the total.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of people  (a) eligible and  (b) likely to file cases for review under the revised arrangements for the Armed Forces Pension Compensation scheme.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 1 March 2010
	All those personnel in receipt of an award under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (some 5,500 as at September 2009) will have their cases reviewed to ensure their awards reflect the recommendations made by Lord Boyce's review, which the Government have agreed to implement in full. There will therefore be no need for individuals to file their cases for review as the MOD will automatically conduct case reviews and contact all previous claimants to inform them of the increased benefits they will receive. We are committed to implementing the legislative changes arising from the review of the scheme within a year. Individual awards will be re-examined once the new legislation is in place. All new claimants under the scheme will, of course, benefit from the improvements being made in the same way.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) complaints and  (b) requests for clarification on the taxation of war pensions his Department has received from former service personnel in the last two years.

Kevan Jones: War disablement pensions are not taxable and recipients of war disablement pensions are not affected by the recent issuing, by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, of incorrect tax code notices to recipients of attributable pensions under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.
	Information on the number of complaints and requests for clarification made to the Ministry of Defence on the tax code issue is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many graduates there were from Royal Air Force college Cranwell in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them are still employed within the RAF.

Bill Rammell: In 2005, the Initial Officer Training (IOT) course was restructured and a new data system was introduced. Retrieving data from pre-2006 would require a manual search of paper records and so this information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	The number of Officer graduates from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, by year, were:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 282 
			 2007 371 
			 2008 574 
			 2009 547 
		
	
	The figures for 2006 are incomplete as the data collection did not commence until July, with the first graduation of the restructured IOT course. The increased output between 2007 and 2008 is due to an increase in RAF recruitment to meet the increasing demand in manpower establishment.
	The number of graduates still employed within the RAF is not held centrally and could only be provided by manual searches through the Joint Personnel Administration database at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many graduates there were from Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them are still employed within the Royal Marines.

Bill Rammell: The number of Royal Marines personnel to pass out of Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) in each of the last 10 years is as follows:
	
		
			  Commando Training Centre Royal Marines 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 RM officers - 28 43 37 28 38 33 35 36 39 
			 RM other ranks 500 566 602 663 612 458 568 569 557 574 
			 AACC(1) - - - - 156 101 194 164 265 204 
			 RMR RFCC(2) - - - - 46 48 46 47 66 66 
			 (1) The All Arms Commando Course (AACC) is conducted primarily to train personnel who will serve either with or support of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and is undertaken by service personnel from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force. (2) The Royal Marine Reserve, Reserve Forces Commando Course (RMR RFCC) is undertaken by Royal Marine Reserve candidates prior to full Commando Training. 
		
	
	In order to provide the figures prior to 2001 for Royal Marine officers and before 2004 for AACC and RMR RFCC would require a manual search of records which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on how many of these graduates are still employed within the Royal Marines is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the Truck Cargo Heavy Duty convoy has had to return to base with its journey uncompleted for each reason in the last three years.

Quentin Davies: The Truck Cargo Heavy Duty convoy has not had to return to base with its journey uncompleted on any occasion in the last three years.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has made an assessment of the merits of the use of mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles by the armed forces.

Quentin Davies: The term "Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected" or "MRAP" is a term used within the United States armed forces, and encapsulates a family of protected vehicles. Force Protection Industries have supplied Cougar vehicles for the US MRAP programme; two of these vehicles, the Cougar 4x4 and Cougar 6x6, are the base vehicles for the Mastiff and Ridgback protected vehicles in service with the UK armed forces.
	Mastiff and Ridgback were acquired following assessments against a range of key requirements and ability to deliver within Urgent Operational Requirement timelines. Since their entry into service, these vehicles have an excellent protection record and are vehicles of choice for commanders.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Floods

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North Devon of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 231W, on the Atomic Weapons Establishment: floods, when he expects discussions with insurers on the costs arising from the July 2007 flooding at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to be concluded.

Bob Ainsworth: Following analysis by Ministry of Defence officials of the Atomic Weapons Establishment Management Ltd. (AWEML) report on this issue, the matter has largely been concluded. Only one minor item remains to be agreed between AWEML and one of its contractors. It is anticipated that this will be resolved within three months.

Bomb Disposal

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on  (a) acquiring and  (b) maintaining hand-held mine detectors in each of the last 10 years.

Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence has procured a range of hand-held metal detecting equipments that can be used for detecting mines and IEDs. Costs are only available from financial year 2006-07, the year of initial purchase, for the current primary equipment and are broken down as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Equipment  Acquisition cost  Maintenance cost 
			 2006-07 1.168 0 
			 2007-08 2.345 0 
			 2008-09 5.066 0 
			 2009-10 8.216 0.136 
		
	
	In addition, approximately £3 million in total over the last 10 years has been spent on a range of specialist metal detectors. To break this figure down further, could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Bomb Disposal

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of his Department's hand-held mine detectors are  (a) in service and  (b) fit for purpose.

Quentin Davies: 100 per cent. of the Department's hand held metal detectors are in service and approximately 91 per cent. are available (i.e. fit for purpose).

Cadets

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) grammar,  (b) comprehensive and  (c) academy schools had operational Combined Cadet Forces in the last year for which figures are available.

Kevan Jones: As at 1 April 2009, the position in the state sector was:
	State grammar schools: 22;
	State academies: 4;
	Other state schools: 34.

Chemical Weapons: Animals

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 811-12W, on chemical weapons: animals, what the reasons are for the increase in the number of non-human primate tests between 2008-09; and whether any such tests have been conducted on human beings since 2005.

Quentin Davies: The number of procedures conducted on animals depends on the demand from the MOD research programme. The increase in the number of procedures returned by Dstl involving non-human primates in 2009 is due to the maturity of long term projects within the research programme. One of these projects concerns the development of new medical countermeasures which require the development of a non-human primate model of human infection. The model is required for the regulatory approval of new medical countermeasures to a range of bacterial and viral infections which are relevant in both military and civilian environments.
	The other factor that contributed to the rise in numbers is another project which followed on from earlier studies conducted in a rodent species. These studies determined a necessity for work in a species closer to man to assess the clinical effects of the inhalation of various chemical materials.
	The studies undertaken at Dstl Porton Down with human participants do not involve the use of chemical warfare agents. Studies involving the use of service volunteers since 2005 have included the assessment of candidate prophylactic and therapeutic drugs, and the physiological and psychological impact of wearing various combinations of personal protective clothing, including respirators.

Defence Nuclear Weapon Regulator

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 825W, on the Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator, what the  (a) terms of reference and  (b) mission and objectives are of the Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator.

Kevan Jones: As explained in my answer on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 825W, the Nuclear Weapon Regulator is an officer within the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR). The mission/objective of DNSR is to regulate the nuclear and radiological safety of the defence nuclear programmes so that they are managed with due regard for the protection of the work force, the public and the environment. As an individual, the Nuclear Weapon Regulator does not have a mission separate from that of the DNSR team as a whole.
	The Nuclear Weapon Regulator's terms of reference are in the form of a letter of delegation from the head of DNSR which provides regulatory authority:
	To give permission for nuclear activities on the basis of formal safety submissions, reviews and inspections.
	To approve/agree nuclear safety submissions and safety management arrangements.
	To offer formal regulatory advice to the authorisee's representatives.
	To direct the postponement or cessation of specific nuclear weapons programme activity.
	To assess the demonstration of emergency arrangements.

Defence Technology and Innovation Centre

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the budget outturn of the Defence Technology and Innovation Centre for 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The current 2009-10 outturn forecast for the Defence Technology and Innovation Centre is £308 million. This can be split into research expenditure of £303 million and operating costs of £5 million.

Defence Technology and Innovation Centre

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the value for money of the Defence Technology and Innovation Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: In April 2009 the Chief Scientific Adviser (CS A) commissioned an internal review of how all Science and Technology (S&T) is delivered within the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
	The review determined that in the interests of achieving the best value for money from MOD's S&T investment, the science|innovation|technology top-level budget (SIT TLB) should stand down, with its tasks integrated in the future by the Centre TLB and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The Defence Technology and Innovation Centre (DTIC) is a part of SIT and thus it too will be standing down.

Departmental Housing

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department received from  (a) renting and  (b) leasing its housing stock in Scotland to private companies or individuals in each of the last five years.

Kevan Jones: Service family accommodation (SFA) is provided to accommodate entitled service personnel and their families. However, where there is no short-to-medium term requirement for SFA, but a long-term requirement remains, the Department will do all it can to make properties available to the wider community.
	While information for the last five years could be provided only at disproportionate cost, there are at present 15 SFA properties leased to Moray council for use as social housing at an annual rent of £3,600 per property. This arrangement began in 2009.
	In addition, Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations allow for the occupancy of available SFA by eligible civilian occupants. There are currently six eligible civilian occupants of SFA in Scotland. Civilian occupancy charges are set in accordance with local market rates and at present this totals £2,755.34 per month.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's private finance initiative projects have been delayed because of problems obtaining finance; and what the monetary value is of the contract for each such project.

Bill Rammell: The Department is not aware of any Ministry of Defence private finance initiative projects that have been delayed because of problems obtaining finance.

Future Large Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much additional funding the UK committed to the A400M programme at the EU Defence Ministers' meeting at Palma de Mallorca on 24 to 25 February 2010.

Quentin Davies: The UK did not commit any additional funding at this meeting.

Government Car and Dispatch Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency in each of the last five years; how much it has spent on such payments in 2009-10; and what proportion of such payments was made in respect of the Government Car Service.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) paid £90,035 to the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) in 2008-09, wholly for the Government Car Service (GCS). This amount includes the cost of the car allocated for use by the Secretary of State for Defence as reported by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in his written ministerial statement on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 79-80WS. The Secretary of State's car is provided as part of a range of security measures connected with the role. MOD payments to the GCDA so far in 2009-10 have totalled £90,535.

Iraq and Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force (i) fixed wing aircraft and (ii) helicopters are deployed in (A) Iraq, (B) Germany, (C) Afghanistan, (D) Cyprus, (E) Diego Garcia, (F) the Falkland Islands and the South Atlantic, (G) Gibraltar, (H) Kuwait, (I) Ascension Island, (J) the United Arab Emirates, (K) Oman, (L) Bahrain and (M) at sea.

Bill Rammell: There are no manned UK military aircraft deployed in Iraq, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, Kuwait, the UAE or Ascension Island.
	There are 12 Army helicopters permanently based in Germany, though some of these may be deployed on operations or in the UK for maintenance at any given time.
	There are 12 RAF manned fixed-wing aircraft in Afghanistan. All three services have helicopters in Afghanistan and there are three Royal Navy helicopters deployed to Oman. I am withholding further information on numbers in operational theatres because it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the efficiency, security and capability of the armed forces.
	In the Falkland Islands and the South Atlantic there are six manned fixed wing aircraft and two helicopters, all from the RAF.
	There are no manned fixed-wing aircraft at sea. There are currently 10 Royal Navy helicopters at sea.
	All figures and types are only for aircraft deployed on operations as at 23 February 2010. Aircraft may also be temporarily overseas for exercises or other short-term visits.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters of each type in each armed service were  (a) in service,  (b) in the forward fleet and  (c) fit for purpose on the latest date for which figures are available.

Quentin Davies: Operational capability is measured in terms of flying hours rather than the number of airframes available. All rotary wing operational requirements are currently being met.
	Aircraft defined as available (i.e. fit for purpose) are those within the forward fleet that are considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date. The number of helicopters available varies from day to day due to routine maintenance requirements.
	All aircraft in the forward fleet which are not available are classified as short-term unserviceable. Aircraft in this category will be undergoing first-line maintenance, other minor works or being prepared for transportation. Aircraft which are short-term unserviceable can usually be made available relatively quickly.
	The in service total includes aircraft in both the forward fleet and the depth fleet. Aircraft in the depth fleet are those undergoing modifications, depth maintenance, repair and those in storage.
	
		
			  Average across January 2010 
			  Aircraft type  In service  Forward fleet  Available 
			  Navy:
			 Sea King 4/6 42 29 18 
			 Lynx Mk3 27 19 10 
			 Lynx Mk8 33 19 12 
			 Merlin Mkl 42 23 14 
			 Sea King Mk5 15 11 7 
			 Sea King Mk7 (SKASac) 13 11 7 
			  Army:
			 Apache 67 44 18 
			 N3 4 4 4 
			 Lynx Mk7 77 44 29 
			 Lynx Mk9/9A 23 9 8 
			 Gazelle 27 22 14 
			 Bell 212 8 8 8 
			  RAF:
			 Chinook Mk2/3 48 29 21 
			 Merlin Mk3/3A 28 20 10 
			 Puma 43 22 11 
			 Sea King Mk3/3a 25 16 9

Military Aircraft: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training hours  (a) helicopter pilots and  (b) trainee helicopter pilots spent on average in each aircraft type in the Royal Air Force in each (i) year since 2005 and (ii) month of 2009.

Bill Rammell: To become a qualified RAF helicopter pilot individuals undertake initial flying training. Once qualified, pilots are trained to adapt their flying skills to a specific aircraft type which is known as operational conversion unit training. Both types of training are conducted through standardised packages with a set number of flying hours for each pilot. The level of flying required of each pilot for both categories has not changed significantly since 2005.
	The training hours for initial flying training for each aircraft type are:
	Squirrel: 84 hours, 45 minutes;
	Griffin: 77 hours.
	The training hours for operational conversion unit training for each aircraft type are:
	Merlin: 29 hours;
	Puma: 55 hours;
	Chinook: 125 hours;
	Sea King: 70 hours;
	Augusta Western: 28 hours.
	Pilots record their own training hours within their personal log books. To determine the average training hours helicopter pilots undertake outside of these training courses would require a manual extraction of data from each individual's flying log followed by analysis. This information is not held centrally and could be obtained at only disproportionate cost.

Public Expenditure

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on joint European projects in each of the last 10 years.

Quentin Davies: After clarification I understand that your question refers to how much the Department has spent on joint European equipment acquisition projects over the past 10 years. Records containing the information you seek for all joint European equipment projects is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I am, however, able to provide you with expenditure information on the largest of these projects drawing on information published in the Major Project Reports. This is provided in the table.
	The table includes costs for the Type 45 destroyer project. This is a UK project, but an element of the costs relate to procurement of the Sea Viper (formerly PAAMS) missile, which is being procured collaboratively with France and Italy. The costs for Sea Viper are not recorded separately.
	It has only been possible to provide expenditure incurred in-year for the years 2000 to 2008. This information was not collected for Major Projects Report 2009.
	
		
			  Ministry of Defence-major projects report 
			  £ million 
			  Description  Cost up to March 2000  March 2001  March 2002  March 2003  March 2004  March 2005  March 2006  March 2007  March 2008 
			 A400M - - 2 0 36 67 94 135 230 
			 Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missile (BVRAAM) - - - 83 41 91 86 69 97 
			 Eurofighter (Typhoon) 4,367 1,077 1,110 1,136 884 908 1,101 1,208 502 
			 Eurofighter Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) - - 76 55 39 22 - - - 
			 Typhoon Future Capability Programme - - - - - - - - 70 
			 Medium Range TRIGAT 107 2 - - - - - - - 
			 Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) 6 11 4 9 - - - - - 
			 T45 Destroyer (including Sea Viper (PAAMS)) - - 487 367 641 777 581 624 640 
			 Total 4,480 1,090 1,679 1,650 1,641 1,865 1,862 2,036 1,539

Royal Military Academy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many graduates there were from RMA Sandhurst in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them are still employed within the Army.

Bill Rammell: The number of Regular and TA Officers who have graduated from the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in each of the last nine financial years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Output from RMAS 
			   Regular  Territorial Army 
			 2001-02 714 257 
			 2002-03 720 261 
			 2003-04 713 287 
			 2004-05 746 195 
			 2005-06 752 115 
			 2006-07 707 172 
			 2007-08 712 217 
			 2008-09 713 171 
			 2009-10 645 157 
		
	
	Figures prior to financial year 2001-02 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Regular Officer information for 2009-10 does include a cohort of Officer Cadets who will pass out at Easter. Subject to any late removals from course this number may change. All TA courses for this period have completed.
	Information on how many of those who graduated from Sandhurst in these years and are still employed within the Army is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Naval College

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many graduates there were from Britannia Royal Naval College in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them are still employed within the Navy.

Bill Rammell: The number of Royal Navy personnel to pass out of Britannia Royal Navy College (BRNC) in each of the last 10 years is as follows:
	
		
			  Britannia Royal Navy College 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Royal Navy1 478 446 418 372 330 320 320 325 248 314 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary 0 0 20 0 25 0 32 21 8 33 
			 Foreign Nationals 55 37 41 48 65 41 40 63 60 77 
			 (1) These figures include Royal Navy Reserve personnel. 
		
	
	Information on how many of these graduates are still employed within the Royal Navy is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency employs in each salary band.

Kevan Jones: The number of staff employed in the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each salary band for both military and civilian staff, as at 1 February 2010, are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Military 
			  NATO Grades  Number 
			 OF6 3 
			 OF5 6 
			 OF4 9 
			 OF3 19 
			 OF2 6 
			 OR8 2 
			 OR7 5 
			 OR9 7 
			 Total 57 
		
	
	
		
			  Civilian 
			  Broader banded grade  Number( 1) 
			 SCS 2 
			 B1 4 
			 B2 7 
			 C1 37 
			 C2 100 
			 D 346 
			 E1 335 
			 E2 123 
			 Skill zone 2 58 
			 Skill zone 1 3 
			 Medical advisor(2) 22 
			 NHS(2) 7 
			 Total 1044 
			 (1) The figures for civilian staff are a headcount based on their substantive grade. Headcount is a measure of the size of the workforce that counts all staff equally regardless of their hours of work. (2) Ministry of Defence staff employed on national health service terms and conditions.

Type 45 Destroyers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what timetable has been set for the delivery of the new Type 45 destroyers; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The in-service date for HMS Daring, the first in the Class of Type 45 Destroyers, is expected to be declared later this year. The remaining five ships in the Type 45 Programme are expected to enter service progressively through to mid-2014.

Type 45 Destroyers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Sea Viper missile system.

Quentin Davies: The effectiveness of the Sea Viper weapon system is being assessed through a rigorous trials programme to ensure that all the requirements of this complex system have been met and any problems resolved before it enters service.

Type 45 Destroyers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has made any official visits in connection with the new Type 45 destroyers.

Quentin Davies: Since August 2007, the current Secretary of State for Defence has made two official visits to HMS Daring, the first in the Class of Type 45 Destroyers; these visits were made when he was the then Minister of State for the armed forces. Details of these and all other official visits made by Defence Ministers in respect of Type 45 Destroyers are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Date of visit  Defence Minister  Type 45 ship 
			  2007   
			 14 August Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP, the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces HMS Daring 
			
			  2008   
			 29 February Right hon. Baroness Taylor of Bolton, the then Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support HMS Duncan 
			 4 September Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP, the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces HMS Daring 
			 17 November Quentin Davies MP, Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support HMS Dragon 
			
			  2009   
			 28 January Quentin Davies MP, Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support HMS Daring 
			 1 July Kevan Jones MP, Minister of State for Veterans HMS Dauntless 
			 20 July Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces HMS Daring 
			 7 and 8 October Quentin Davies MP, Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support HMS Daring

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Written Questions

David Hamilton: To ask the Leader of the House if she will take steps to ensure that all written questions due for answer on a named day before dissolution of Parliament receive a substantive answer.

Barbara Keeley: The clear expectation, as set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work published by my office, is that Departments should ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the date specified. However, it may not be possible for questions which are tabled for answer after the last sitting day of the Session to receive a reply.
	The full 'Guide to Parliamentary Work' can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx

CABINET OFFICE

Chequers

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance governs the display of fine china at Chequers.

Tessa Jowell: Chequers is established under the Chequers Estate Acts 1917 and 1958 and is administered by independent trustees. Any guidance governing the presentation of the collection is a matter for the trustees.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Office for National Statistics has classified the community infrastructure levy as a form of taxation.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking whether the Office for National Statistics has classified the community infrastructure levy as a tax (319636).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has not yet made a classification decision with regard to the Community Infrastructure Levy. Although the concept of a levy has been around for some time, having been part of the Planning Act 2008, ONS does not generally consider draft proposals as part of its classification process. Consequently, ONS has been waiting for the publication of the finalised version before formally considering it and making a classification decision.
	The exact details of how the levy will be implemented have only been published recently, with the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 laid before the House of Commons on 10 February 2010. ONS will make a formal classification decision on the levy in due course.
	A summary of the UK National Accounts sector and transaction classification process is published on the ONS website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/downloads/NAclassification.pdf

Government Departments: Advertising

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what advertising and marketing campaigns are being co-ordinated by the Central Office of Information in 2009-10; how many such campaigns that Office plans to co-ordinate in 2010-11; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of each such campaign.

Tessa Jowell: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 23 February 2010:
	asking for information regarding advertising and marketing campaigns co-ordinated by COI in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	Figures for campaigns, for the current year, co-ordinated by COI have not yet been finalised.
	Accurate information for the current financial year will only be published once the annual accounts have been fully audited.
	Estimates of the cost and number of campaigns are not held by COI but by the commissioning department.

Government Departments: Advertising

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many companies participate in the Central Office of Information framework agreement for online advertising; what the monetary value is of the contracts under the framework agreement; and on what date that agreement was made in its final form.

Dawn Butler: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the right hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 23 February 2010:
	asking for information regarding the online adverting framework.
	The COI does not have a framework for online advertising, this may however be included on other frameworks that we manage, and a list can be found on our website:
	www.coi.gov.uk

Government Departments: Marketing

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the Central Office of Information's contract procurement notice 2009/S 210-302171 for Brand and Brand Identity Framework, whether the proposed £4 million of expenditure is in relation to  (a) branding in total or  (b) establishing a framework agreement and approved suppliers.

Dawn Butler: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the right hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 23 February 2010:
	asking for information regarding the allocation of expenditure in relation to the Brand and Brand Identity Framework.
	The £4 million of expenditure relates to the estimated value of a framework agreement over a four year period.

Government Departments: Public Relations

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans the Central Office of Information has to establish a framework agreement for public affairs firms as suppliers to Government departments and agencies.

Tessa Jowell: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the right hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 23 February 2010:
	asking whether COI has plans to establish a framework for public affairs firms.
	COI has no plans to establish a framework for public affairs at this time.

Honours

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the Prime Minister's speech at Britain's Everyday Heroes Book Launch of 24 July 2007, how many individuals have received an Award for Social Technology to date.

Angela Smith: The UK Catalyst Awards-the community awards for social technology-were awarded to businesses that used social media to tackle current social challenges. A total of eight awards were received by businesses in 2008.
	The event formed part of the work programme of the Council on Social Action. A full list of award winners from the 2008 UK Catalyst Awards can be found at:
	http://www.enterpriseuk.org/get_involved/uk_catalyst_awards
	A copy of the list will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants in Leeds North West constituency had been claiming the allowance for  (a) up to three,  (b) between three and six,  (c) between six and 12 and  (d) between 12 and 24 months in each month since September 2009.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants in Leeds North West constituency had been claiming the allowance for (a) up to three, (b) between three and six, (c) between six and 12 and (d) between 12 and 24 months in each month since September 2009. (319495)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	The table attached shows the number of claims of JSA for people resident in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency, and the percentage of all claimants, by duration of the claim in each month since September 2009.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1 Number and proportion of persons claiming  jobseeker's allowance  by duration of claim resident in Leeds North West constituency 
			   Number of claimants  ( Thousand )  Proportions of claimants  ( Percentage ) 
			   Up to 13 weeks  Over 13 weeks up to 26 weeks  Over 26 weeks up to 52 weeks  Over 52 weeks up to 104 weeks  Total  Up to 13 weeks  Over 13 weeks up to 26 weeks  Over 26 weeks up to 52 weeks  Over 52 weeks up to 104 weeks 
			 September 2009 1,050 440 385 180 2,085 50 21 19 9 
			 October 2009 1,050 440 375 185 2,080 51 21 18 9 
			 November 2009 965 480 365 215 2,055 47 23 18 10 
			 December 2009 930 500 380 225 2,065 45 24 18 11 
			 January 2010 880 540 430 230 2,110 42 26 20 11 
			  Note: 1. Data rounded to nearest five. 2. Age and duration data are only available for computerised claims, which account for 99.7 per cent. of all claims.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system

Jobseeker's Allowance: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many young people aged 16 and 17 years old in Leeds North West constituency have claimed jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2005.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many young people aged 16 and 17 years in Leeds North West constituency have claimed jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2005 (319505)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. Table 1 shows the number of people aged 16 and 17 resident in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in January 2010 and January of each year since 2005.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons( 1)  aged 16 and 17 claiming  jobseeker's allowance  resident in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency 
			  As at January each  year  Leeds North West 
			 2005 5 
			 2006 10 
			 2007 5 
			 2008 5 
			 2009 5 
			 2010 5 
			 (1) Age data is only available for computerised claims, which account for 99.7 per cent. of all claims.  Note: Data rounded to nearest 5.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system

Jobseeker's Allowance: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average length of time was for which claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in Leeds North West constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in  (a) each of the last 12 months and  (b) each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for what the average length of time was for which claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in Leeds North West constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years. (319627)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the time between the start of an individual's claim and the count date in each reference month. Table 1 shows the median length of live claims during the last 12 months up to the latest available period in January 2010, and for January of each of the last 5 years for those people aged 18-24 resident in the Leeds North West Constituency.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Median length of claims of  jobseeker's allowance  of persons1 aged 18-24 resident in Leeds North West constituency 
			   Leeds North West (median) 
			  Yea rs (as at January)  
			 2006 13.5 
			 2007 11.7 
			 2008 11.2 
			 2009 9.8 
			 2010 12.1 
			   
			  Months  
			 February 2009 9.0 
			 March 2009 10.1 
			 April 2009 10.7 
			 May 2009 11.4 
			 June 2009 10.4 
			 July 2009 6.8 
			 August 2009 7.3 
			 September 2009 8.4 
			 October 2009 8.2 
			 November 2009 9.7 
			 December 2009 10.6 
			 January 2010 12.1 
			 (1) Length of claim data is only available for computerised claims, which account for 99.7 per cent. of all claims.  Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System

New Businesses: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses have started up in Leeds North West constituency since 1997; and how many of those businesses were operating in the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	.
	The ONS release on Business Demography at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	gives information on five year survival rates, but these are not available prior to 2003. The table below contains the latest statistics available on survival into 2008 for Leeds North West.
	
		
			  Enterprise births and survival into 2008 for Leeds North West 
			   Births  Number surviving into 2008 
			 2003 495 155 
			 2004 315 175 
			 2005 285 190 
			 2006 305 240 
			 2007 330 315

Pay

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the  (a) mean,  (b) median,  (c) 10th percentile and  (d) 90th percentile level of (i) private and (ii) public sector salaries in each (A) region and (B) industrial category was in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated February 2010:
	The Director General for the Office for National Statistics has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) mean, (b) median, (c) 10th percentile and (d) 90th percentile levels of (i) private and (ii) public sector salaries were in each of the years since 1997, broken down by (A) region and (B) industrial category. I am replying in his absence. (318688)
	Annual levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.
	Tables showing annual salary estimates for full-time employees according to the breakdowns you requested will be placed in the Libraries of the House. The figures are provided for each year from 1999, the earliest period for which annual earnings estimates are available.

Personal Income: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the average income of a household resident in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in the (i) private and (ii) social rented sector in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	We use Households Below Average Income data to provide estimates of average incomes. However, the sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide estimates for low-level geographies such as those requested.

Personal Income: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the average income of a household in Leeds North West constituency in the  (a) private and  (b) social rented sector in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what estimate has been made of the average income of a household in Leeds North West constituency in the (a) private and (b) social rented sector in each of the last three years. (319496).
	The information requested is not available.

Population

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the population density was of each region of England in  (a) 1980,  (b) 1990,  (c) 2000 and  (d) 2010; and what the expected population density in each region is in (i) 2020, (ii) 2030 and (iii) 2050.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the population density was of each region of England in (a) 1980, (b) 1990, (c) 2000 and (d) 2010; and what the expected population density in each region is in (i) 2020, (ii) 2030 and (iii) 2050. (319986)
	The attached table shows population density, calculated for each mid-year, as requested. Figures for 1980 to the year 2000 are derived using mid-year population estimates and the relevant land area. Figures for 2010 to 2030 are derived using 2006-based subnational population projections and assume land areas for the UK constituent countries remain constant into the future. Population density figures for 2050 are not available.
	
		
			  Population density for Government office regions in England for selected years 
			  Persons per sq km 
			   1980( 1)  1990( 1)  2000( 1)  2010( 2)  2020( 2)  2030( 2) 
			 North East 309 301 297 301 312 322 
			 North West 493 484 480 495 520 544 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 319 319 322 346 378 407 
			 East Midlands 246 256 267 291 321 349 
			 West Midlands 399 401 405 421 446 468 
			 East 252 266 281 305 336 364 
			 London 4,358 4,325 4,603 4,931 5,303 5,606 
			 South East 378 398 419 445 479 512 
			 South West 183 196 206 223 245 266 
			 (1) Population densities are derived using mid-year population estimates and the relevant land area.  (2) Population densities are derived using 2006-based sub-national population projections, assuming constant land area for the UK constituent countries into the future.   Source:  Office for National Statistics.

Social Leadership Forum

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the Prime Minister's speech at Britain's Everyday Heroes Book Launch of 24 July 2007, on what dates the Forum on Social Leadership has met since July 2007.

Angela Smith: Chain Reaction, the forum on social leadership, has held two annual conferences. The first was held on 17 and 18 November 2008 and the second on 12 November 2009.
	The event formed part of the work programme of the Council on Social Action. For more information about both events see:
	www.chain-reaction.org

Unemployment: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the level of unemployment in Leeds North West constituency was in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of unemployment in Leeds North West constituency was in each year since 1997. (319604)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LPS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates of unemployment for the Leeds North West constituency are unavailable.
	As an alternative, in Table 1 we have provided the number of persons claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for the Leeds North West constituency for January 2010 and January of each year since 1997.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of persons resident in Leeds North West parliamentary constituency claiming  jobseeker's allowance 
			  January each year  Number 
			 1997 2,167 
			 1998 1,743 
			 1999 1,505 
			 2000 1,310 
			 2001 1,061 
			 2002 1,054 
			 2003 1,133 
			 2004 989 
			 2005 917 
			 2006 1,042 
			 2007 1,034 
			 2008 964 
			 2009 1,640 
			 2010 2,111 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

West Bank Checkpoints

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress in the removal of checkpoints from the west bank.

Ivan Lewis: The UK welcomes Israel's easing of some restrictions on movement and access in the west bank as a step in the right direction. While recognizing Israel's legitimate security needs, we shall continue to urge the Israeli Government to reduce movement and access restrictions further.

Tzipi Livni

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the law in relation to universal jurisdiction, with particular reference to the case of Tzipi Livni.

Ivan Lewis: I have discussed the law in relation to universal jurisdiction, and in particular the case of Tzipi Livni, with Israeli Ministers. I have also received correspondence from a number of non-governmental groups. Government officials have also been asked for information on the UK's position by US and EU counterparts.

EU Budget

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of prospects for reform of the EU budget.

Chris Bryant: The December European Council called upon the European Commission to publish a report in order to provide orientations on priorities during 2010. The Government remain committed to reform of the EU budget to make it fit for the 21st century, and will continue to explore ways of achieving this with like-minded member states.

EU Budget

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on reform of the EU budget.

Chris Bryant: Reform of the EU budget was last discussed at the December European Council. Heads of Government agreed conclusions language calling on the Commission to produce a report in order for the Council to provide orientations on priorities during 2010. The Government remain committed to reform of the EU budget to make it fit for the 21st century and will continue to work with like-minded member states to achieve it.

Sri Lanka

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary released a written statement on 23 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 36-38WS, updating the House on the political situation in Sri Lanka and outlining recent UK actions.
	A link to the statement can be found here:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm100223/wmstext/100223m0009.htm#column_36WS

Pakistan

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the importance of the stability of Pakistan for the Government's policy on the region.

David Miliband: A stable, secure Pakistan enjoying good relations with her neighbours is important for UK objectives in South Asia and Afghanistan, particularly given the ongoing threat to UK forces in Afghanistan emanating from Pakistan's border areas. The UK and Pakistan, together with other international partners, are working closely together to support the extension of Government control over the border areas. £50 million of the Department for International Development (DFID)'s £665 million programme for Pakistan is going to support this stabilisation effort. The UK also strongly supports renewed dialogue between Pakistan and its neighbours, notably India, as an important component of wider regional stability.

Gaza

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the blockade of Gaza with his Israeli counterpart.

Ivan Lewis: The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We continue to press the Israeli authorities to ease border restrictions further and to permit a greater flow of humanitarian aid, reconstruction materials, trade goods, and people into Gaza. This was most recently raised by the Secretary of State for International Development.

Iran

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Iranian authorities continue to suppress legitimate protest, restrict civil liberties and threaten violence, even execution, to silence dissent. But many Iranians continue to demand their fundamental rights. We urge the authorities to heed their citizens' calls, and ensure a better future for all Iranians.

Falkland Islands

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Argentinian ambassador on sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

Chris Bryant: There has been no Argentine ambassador to the UK since July 2008. I have had no recent discussions on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands with the Argentine embassy. The UK Government have no doubt about their sovereignty over the Islands.

Pregnant Women: Burkina Faso

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on discrimination against pregnant women in Burkina Faso; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has noted Amnesty International's recent report on this issue. We are pleased to learn from Amnesty that President Compaoré of Burkina Faso met them on 12 February 2010 and committed to lifting all financial barriers to emergency obstetric care and access to family planning.

Burma: Arms Trade

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 978W, on Burma: arms trade, whether his Department has had discussions with the government of  (a) Canada,  (b) New Zealand and  (c) Brazil on a UN-mandated arms embargo against Burma.

Ivan Lewis: Following my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's letter to the UN Secretary General and Security Council members in August 2009, we have made broad appeals to international governments to join the EU and ban the sale of arms to Burma. We have recently focused our diplomatic effort on raising the issue of a universal arms embargo with Burma's neighbours. We have also communicated our views to the Russian Government, as Russia is a notable supplier of arms to Burma. We have not yet raised an arms embargo with the Governments of Brazil, New Zealand or Canada. These and many other countries will be covered in a structured global campaign that will be launched shortly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Burma: Human Rights

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 979W, on Burma: human rights, what discussions he has had in the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly on reports of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.

Ivan Lewis: In both the Human Rights Council and UN General Assembly we have consistently raised our serious concern at reports of human rights abuses in Burma. Our approach reflects the representations we have had from a number of concerned parties who report on situations they believe amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. Our judgment is that we would not be able to secure support within the UN Security Council for the actions that would be necessary to follow up with formal charges on those grounds. However, resolutions secured with strong UK support in the UN's human rights bodies make specific reference to human rights violations by the military regime.

Colombia: Politics and Government

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of statements by senior Colombian government officials linking senior members of the political opposition in that country to terrorist and subversive activity.

Chris Bryant: We have not picked up on recent reports of officials linking members of the opposition to terrorist and subversive activity. But we are aware of such statements having been made in the past, which are damaging to the credibility of Colombian politics and, more importantly, potentially dangerous to those whom the statements are directed at.

Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the activities of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda following Rwanda's accession to the Commonwealth.

Ivan Lewis: The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) continue to pose a destabilising presence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as violent attacks on civilians, particularly sexual violence against women, still occur. However efforts against the FDLR are ongoing, including recent military operations in the Kivus which have weakened the command and control structures, as have the arrests of key members of the leadership in Europe. Efforts in 2009 through the Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration programme have led to 1,997 FDLR being demobilised, with 1,552 repatriated to Rwanda, three times as many as in 2008.

Departmental Air Travel

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the savings in travel costs likely to be made consequent on the use by officials of his Department of economy class tickets for flights of up to five hours.

Chris Bryant: As part of a review of allowances we have proposed that all journeys of up to five hours (by train or air) should be taken in economy/standard class (including Eurostar). The Trade Union Side are now consulting their members about the proposals in the review. We estimate that using economy class for journeys up to five hours would save in the region of £600,000 per annum.

Diplomatic Service: Manpower

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has received advice on the permissibility of making redundant management service officers and replacing them in that capacity with locally-engaged staff; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: To date there have been no compulsory redundancies as a result of localisation of management officer positions. Some management officers have chosen to take voluntary early retirement. However no one has been forced to leave. Our policy is to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible. In response to concerns raised by the trade union side, we sought advice on this question and we are fully committed to following our legal obligations in any redundancy situation should it arise.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2010,  Official Report, column 835W, on Government hospitality: wines, what proportion of the backlog of data has been cleared since the date of that answer.

Chris Bryant: Work on the Share Point Users database for the Government Hospitality Cellar is on-going and is undertaken by one civil servant as part of a much wider range of duties and priorities. We are working towards a completion date of July 2010 for the system to be fully updated.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department has received for information about the Government wine cellar in the last three years.

Chris Bryant: Between 2007 and the end of 2009 Government Hospitality (GH) received 18 requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to the Government Hospitality wine cellar or the GH Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine. So far in 2010 GH has received five Freedom of Information requests.

International Atomic Energy Agency

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed in his meeting with the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 23 February 2010.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the new Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 23 February during Yukiya Amano's first official visit to the UK. They discussed the latest developments on the Iranian nuclear file and other nuclear issues.
	As a member of the IAEA Board, the UK is fully supportive of the Agency's work to ensure the robust implementation of IAEA safeguards agreements in countries of concern.

Nuclear Disarmament: Conferences

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation his Department had at the global zero summit on nuclear disarmament in Paris on 2 to 4 February; and what evaluation he has made of the  (a) papers discussed and  (b) conclusions reached at the summit.

Ivan Lewis: Our embassy in Paris represented the UK. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister issued a statement welcoming Global Zero's work towards a safer world and setting out the UK's commitment to pursuing the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons.
	At the summit, Global Zero launched their 2010 'Action Plan' which sets out a timeframed strategy towards zero in four phases, including a multilateral Global Zero accord. The UK firmly believes that sustainable global nuclear disarmament can only be achieved through a multilateral process, and stands ready to engage in a future broader multilateral process when the conditions are right. The UK is actively working to create the necessary conditions to enable countries to give up their nuclear weapons, verifiably and irreversibly.

Scientists

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government Chief Scientist has provided advice to  (a) his Department and  (b) the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Commissioner on the proposed marine protected area in the BIOT.

Chris Bryant: Marine Resources and Fisheries Consultants (MRAG) Ltd. is currently contracted by the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration to manage the Territory's fisheries. Professor Beddington stood down as Director of MRAG Ltd. on the announcement of his appointment by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1 October 2007. He has taken no part in any MRAG activities since that time. Since his appointment he has had no discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or any other Department on fisheries with which MRAG is involved. Neither has Professor Beddington offered any advice on the proposed Marine Protected Area in BIOT. In responding to the FCO public consultation, the company's Development Director has declared MRAG's interest in the outcome of the consultation.

Southern Africa: AIDS

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his own Department's specific commitments in the Government's AIDS strategy Achieving Universal Access apply to middle-income countries in Southern Africa.

Ivan Lewis: The Achieving Universal Access strategy does apply to middle-income countries in Southern Africa, although we do not expect to undertake activities in every middle-income African country. We are prioritising our limited resources to focus our activities in those countries where we can have the biggest impact on specific commitments.
	For example, our High Commission in Windhoek supports politically and promotes advocacy of UN Children's Fund HIV/AIDS work in Namibia for orphans, women and vulnerable children (the Department for International Development (DFID) provides annual funding of approximately £1 million) and EU funded HIV/AIDS initiatives. Our High Commission also provided political support for the Namibian Government's 'Public Service Workspace Policy' on AIDS and for the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief conference hosted by Namibia in June. In South Africa, our High Commission has helped DFID to agree the priorities and maximise the impact of their HIV/AIDS programme.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Posts overseas also offer targeted lobbying and political support to DFID in low income countries.

Uganda: Oil

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with British oil companies engaged in exploration in Uganda on the environmental effects in the region of such exploration activities.

Ivan Lewis: Our high commission in Kampala is in contact with British companies and other stakeholders engaged in the oil sector in Uganda. Uganda's oil and gas policy and proposed new oil legislation is aimed at addressing key priorities including resource management, revenue management and environmental protection. The UK and our international partners will continue to encourage the Government of Uganda to establish a comprehensive and transparent framework to ensure the responsible exploitation and management of its oil resources.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Banks

Peter Luff: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with  (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer,  (b) the Governor of the Bank of England,  (c) representatives of UK businesses,  (d) any such bank or similar institution overseas and  (e) the European Commission on the merits of establishing a state-owned investment bank; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Ministers in BIS have frequent discussions within and outside Government about options to ensure that there continues to be adequate investment to promote economic growth in the period ahead.

Cadbury: Fair Trade Initiative

Jamie Reed: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he discussed with the purchasers of Cadbury any measures to maintain that company's commitment to the use of fairly traded cocoa, chocolate and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: I have neither met, nor spoken to, representatives of Kraft. However, when Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft, met my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State on 2 February, she confirmed that she expected the company's commitments to Fair Trade to continue.

Departmental Disabled Staff

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in (i) his Department and (ii) its executive agencies of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff is.

Patrick McFadden: Based on management information, within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 7.8 per cent. of staff have declared a disability, 79.9 per cent. have declared that they do not have a disability and the remaining 12.4 per cent. of staff have chosen not to respond to the questionnaire. 0.8 per cent. of staff have declared themselves disabled and are working part time.
	The following tables show the average salaries of both part-time and full-time by their pay band and disability status.
	
		
			  Full time staff 
			  Grades  Percentage of FT disabled staff  Average salary (£)  Percentage of FT non disabled staff  Average salary (£)  Percentage of FT non declared staff  Average salary (£) 
			 AA-AO 14.8 20,627 80.1 20,874 5.1 19,411 
			 EO-HEO 8.6 28,326 74.8 28,876 16.6 27,208 
			 SEO-G6 6.2 48,341 82.6 47,991 11.1 49,067 
			 SCS 4.5 81.994 84.6 83,574 10.9 95.056 
			 All FT staff 7.8 36.289 79.4 41,396 12.7 39.856 
		
	
	
		
			  Part time staff 
			  Grades  Percentage of PT disabled staff  Average salary( 1)  (£)  Percentage of PT non disabled staff  Average Salary( 1)  (£)  Percentage of PT non declared staff  Average salary( 1) (£) 
			 AA-AO 5.6 20,263 88.9 19,056 5.6 19,411 
			 EO-HEO 8.5 27,016 80.8 27,116 10.8 27.208 
			 SEO-G6 6.2 42.362 83.1 50,500 10.7 49,067 
			 SCS 10.3 70.871 86.2 79,992 3.4 95,056 
			 All PT staff 7.2 37,020 83.4 40,600 9.5 39,856 
			 (1) The large differences between the average salaries of part time staff is due to the very small numbers of both those who have declared a disability and those who have not responded to the questionnaire which make up only 0.8 per cent. and 1 per cent. respectively of the Department's work force. 
		
	
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service, Companies House, the Intellectual Property Office and the National Measurement Office they will respond to the Hon. Member directly.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones:
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 10 February 2010, UIN 317906 to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The proportion of Companies House staff known to be disabled is 3.1% and the median salary for both non-disabled and disabled staff is £18,320. This salary figure applies to both full-time and part-time staff. These figures are taken from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey, published by the Office for National Statistics.
	 Letter from Peter Mason, dated 19 February 2010:
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office to your Parliamentary Question, tabled on 10 February 2010, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills asking for details of disabled staff employed by the Department and its agencies.
	Information provided by the National Measurement Office (then known as the National Weights and Measures Laboratory) is included in the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) statistics published by the Office for National Statistics on 20 January 2010:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/cs0110.pdf
	Statistics in that Survey are based on self declaration of staff who wish to be considered disabled. In practice, no employee of the NMO has currently made such a declaration. Because the statistics depend on self declaration, no account is taken of members of staff who have medical conditions which have led them to make applications for reasonable adjustments under our equal opportunities or health & safety policies, but have not made such declarations.
	 Letter from John Alty, dated 16 February 2010:
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 10 February 2010, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The IPO employs 905 staff of which 20 (2.2%) have declared a disability. Of this 20, 17 are full-time and 3 part-time.
	Average salary costs are shown below:
	(A) Full-time disabled: £28,266.10
	(B) Full-time non-disabled: £30,808.36
	(C) Part-time disabled: £17,955.07
	(D) Part-time non-disabled: £26,337.83
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 26 February 2010:
	The Minister of State, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many and what proportion of staff in (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in (i) his Department and (ii) the executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff.
	There is a total of 2685 employees as at 1(st) February 2010. 357 (13.3%) of these are disabled. There is also a number of employees whose disability status is not known (163).
	The table below gives average salary details(1).
	(1) Employees whose disability status is not known have not been included in any of the average salary data.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Disabled  Non- d isabled 
			 Full-time (a) 25,606.80 (b) 26,206.76 
			 Part-time (c) 23,438.52 (d) 24,901.01

Departmental Written Questions

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 1117W, on departmental written questions, whether his Department maintains a database to monitor the progress of replies to parliamentary questions.

Patrick McFadden: Yes. The Department uses the database to monitor performance in answering parliamentary questions and will use it to produce published reports to Parliament in due course.

Music: Copyright

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely effect on tax revenues of the abolition of the exemption of charities from public performance licence requirements.

David Lammy: The Government have made no assessment of the likely effect on tax revenues of the repeal of the statutory exemption from licensing requirements for the public performance of recorded and broadcast music by some charitable and not-for-profit organisations.
	This measure is about providing a suitable legal framework for the music industry to ensure that the contribution made by musical performers and producers can be recognised. It is not a Government fiscal measure and therefore, following Better Regulation Executive guidance, it was not necessary to consider any impact on tax revenues.

Regional European Offices

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 1128W, on regional European offices, whether the Government Offices for the Regions  (a) contribute to the funding of the regional European offices in Brussels and  (b) hold copies of their accounts.

Rosie Winterton: In 2009/10 three Government offices for the regions contributed to the funding of regional European offices in Brussels; GO East, GO East Midlands and GO North East. Neither holds copies of the accounts of those regional European offices.

Science: Expenditure

Don Touhig: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Government has spent on promotion of the UK's science base since 1997.

David Lammy: Government spending on promotion of the UK's broad science base is widely distributed among the science-using Departments and a number of agencies and non-departmental public bodies, such as the research councils.
	Within BIS alone (and formerly as DIUS and DTI), the Science and Society team spends a focused budget, drawn from the science budget allocation, on a number of key national activities. Budgets for this work have increased from around £1.25 million in 1997/98 to £17.4 million for the final year (2010/11) of the latest comprehensive spending review, reflecting both the sustained increases to the science budget and the increasing importance on public engagement and the relationship between science and society in the UK.
	While BIS leads many Government activities, and is accountable to my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State for Science and Innovation, other Departments across Government directly promote either the science they fund, or the value of science in delivering their own objectives. For example, in January 2008 DCSF announced a £140 million strategy to educate the next generation of scientists and mathematicians, and provide more STEM teachers. This programme includes a significant science promotion element.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Opium

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of production of opium in Afghanistan.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is taking the following steps to support licit alternatives to opium production in Afghanistan:
	Contributing £30 million over four years to the Comprehensive Agricultural and Rural Development Facility (CARD-F), a national programme designed to increase legal incomes and sustain poppy free districts across Afghanistan.
	Spending around £5 million in support of Governor Mangal's Food Zone programme, to help distribute wheat seed, fertiliser and appropriate training to almost 40,000 farmers across Helmand province. The UK Conflict Fund will also contribute £3 million to this programme.
	We are also considering further options to increase productivity nationwide.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years.

Michael Foster: The numbers of recorded thefts in the last two financial years were 10 in 2007-08 and eight in 2008-09.

Poland: Forestry

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £100 million committed to forestry in Poznan in December 2008 has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent.

Gareth Thomas: The UK announced up to £100 million of funding for forestry at Poznan in 2008. So far we have allocated £50 million to the Forest Investment Program (FIP), one of the multi-donor Climate Investment Funds, of which £12 million has been deposited. The FIP trust fund sub-committee is currently considering expressions of interest from 44 countries and regions, before selecting five pilots for funding. The UK is a member of this committee and will play a role in the deliberations. The remainder has been provisionally allocated to the FIP, and will be deposited in the next financial year, subject to good progress.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) under 18 years and  (b) 18 years and over were admitted to hospital with a condition related to alcohol misuse in each year since 1997-98.

Gillian Merron: The information is in the following table. It is important to note that the figures provided relate to admissions of patients rather than number of patients as a patient can be admitted more than once in a year.
	
		
			  Number of admissions of patients aged under 18 and 18 and over with an alcohol-related condition 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Under 18 10,976 12,043 12,982 14,421 14,465 14,501 12,832 
			 18 and over 499,197 557,374 631,203 721,091 784,655 848,763 932,391 
			 Total 510,173 569,417 644,185 735,512 799,120 863,264 945,223 
			  Note: Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is estimated, based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more of the following alcohol-specific conditions were listed: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic liver disease (K70) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Chronic pancreatitis (alcohol induced) (K86.0) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) 
			 Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis. These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. It should be noted that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Assignment of Episodes to Years Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effects of pricing of alcoholic drinks on levels of alcohol abuse; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In December 2008 the Department published an independent review of the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the university of Sheffield. The review estimated the effects on health, crime and young people of a range of options including the impact of different levels of minimum unit price.
	A copy of the publication "Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield" has already been placed in the Library.
	We continue to look at how we can tackle the problems caused by cheap alcohol, while respecting the rights of responsible consumers and the Government have commissioned further research in this area.

Care Quality Commission

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Care Quality Commission charged organisations for  (a) initial and  (b) repeat inspections in England in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission is the new integrated regulator for health and adult social care from 1 April 2009.
	Regulated providers of adult social care and independent health care are charged fees by the Care Quality Commission in 2009-10. We have been informed by the Care Quality Commission that the total annual fees it charged organisations from 1 April 2009 to 31 January 2010 is £53.3 million. In the same period, the Care Quality Commission additionally charged independent health care organisations a total of £14,000 for repeat inspections.
	Details of the fees charged to adult social care regulated providers is set out on the Care Quality Commission's website at:
	www.cqc.org.uk/guidanceforprofessionals/registration/socialcare/fees.cfm
	Details of the fees charged to independent health care regulated providers is set out on the Care Quality Commission's website at:
	www.cqc.org.uk/guidanceforprofessionals/registration/independenthealthcareservices/howtoregister.cfm
	For 2009-10, the Care Quality Commission does not charge fees for the registration and inspection of NHS bodies.

Care Quality Commission

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average charge levied by the Care Quality Commission was for inspections of a  (a) hospice and  (b) district hospital in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission is the new integrated regulator for health and adult social care from 1 April 2009.
	We have been informed by the Care Quality Commission that the average annual fee charged for a hospice for the period 1 April 2009 to 31 January 2010 is £1,629.
	For 2009-10, the Care Quality Commission does not charge fees for the registration and inspection of national health service bodies.

Care Quality Commission: Dorset

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Care Quality Commission charged organisations in Dorset for repeat inspections in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission is the new integrated regulator for health and adult social care from 1 April 2009.
	We have been informed by the Care Quality Commission that it made no charges for repeat inspections of organisations in Dorset from 1 April 2009 to 31 January 2010.

Care Quality Commission: Dorset

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Care Quality Commission charged hospices in Dorset for inspections in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission is the new integrated regulator for health and adult social care from 1 April 2009.
	We have been informed by the Care Quality Commission that the total annual fees it charged hospices in Dorset from 1 April 2009 to 31 January 2010 was £5,663.

Dementia: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support was allocated by Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust for  (a) the treatment of and  (b) research related to dementia in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The information is not available in the format requested. The Department allocated £150 million to the national health service over 2009-10 and 2010-11 to transform services for people with dementia. However, the Department does not break down primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations by policies, at either the national or local level. Such information as is available about revenue allocations to PCTs in Gloucestershire is shown in the following table.
	It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally taking into account both local priorities and the 'NHS Operating Framework'.
	
		
			  Revenue allocations to PCTs in Gloucestershire from 2004 - 05 
			  Gloucestershire PCT  Allocation (£ million) 
			 2004-05 515.9 
			 2005-06 561.9 
			 2006-07 669.7 
			 2007-08 731.2 
			 2008-09 771.1 
			 2009-10 825.9 
			 2010-11 868.5 
			  Notes: 1. Allocations are not always comparable between years because of changes to baseline funding. 2. Allocations from 2006-07 include primary medical services funding. 3. PCTs were informed of their revenue allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 in December 2008.  Source: Finance, Planning and Allocations Division, Department of Health

Departmental Advertising

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department plans to spend on television advertisements in 2009-10.

Phil Hope: The Department's estimated expenditure on television advertising for the 2009-10 financial year is £26,150,885. This is a provisional figure until records are fully audited at the end of the financial year.
	The figures do not include recruitment or classified advertising costs. Advertising spend is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, Central Office of Information commission and VAT). All figures exclude advertising rebates and audit adjustments and therefore may differ from Central Office of Information official turnover figures.
	The Department evaluates its campaigns using a combination of robust techniques that help to identify exactly what works. In 2009, Smokefree marketing has driven over 715,000 four-week quits. Modelling has also demonstrated a one-year return on marketing investment (ROMI) of an additional £1.20 for every pound of public money spent and a three-year return of £3.84 for every pound spent. The Change4Life campaign has received nearly two million responses and over 400,000 families have signed up. It has been estimated that an additional 10,000 people have been given early access to care as a result of the Department's stroke (Act FAST) campaign in 2009-10, reducing the threat of death and disability.

Derriford Hospital

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether mechanisms are in place at Derriford Hospital to ensure that patients who require remedial surgery following full minimally invasive oesophagectomy procedures are operated on by the same surgeons who carried out the initial surgery;
	(2)  whether he has made an assessment of the level of post-operative care following full minimally invasive oesophagectomy procedures undertaken at Derriford Hospital following the transfer of the upper gastro-intestinal cancer unit from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to Derriford Hospital;
	(3)  whether each of the trials that was being carried out at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital prior to the move of the upper gastro-intestinal cancer unit from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to Derriford Hospital is continuing.

Mike O'Brien: These are matters for the local national health service. I have therefore written to the chair of the South West Peninsula Cancer Network and asked him to write to the hon. Member.

Diabetes

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the national health service of treating patients with diabetes in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Estimates of national health service expenditure on diabetes are available from the programme budgeting returns. The following table shows the estimated gross level expenditure for diabetes from 2004-05 to 2008-09 in England. These figures include primary care trust, Department of Health, strategic health authority and special health authority expenditure. It should be noted that these figures do not include prevention expenditure or general medical services/primary medical services expenditure. This is considerable, but we cannot quantify it separately.
	
		
			   Diabetes expenditure (£000)  Department of Health gross expenditure (£000)  Diabetes as a proportion of gross expenditure (percentage) 
			 2004-05 687,402 71,922,179 1.0 
			 2005-06 866,000 80,185,241 1.1 
			 2006-07 1,043,021 84,193,209 1.2 
			 2007-08 1,151,183 93,183,426 1.2 
			 2008-09 1,262,066 96,814,987 1.3

Health Centres: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his Department to complete the disposal of its interest in the former health centre at Saxon Square, Christchurch.

Mike O'Brien: Following the decision of the local national health service trust not to utilise the property and the landlord's decision not to accept a surrender of the lease, agreement is being finalised with the landlord on the extent of repair works to be undertaken in compliance with a previously served repairs notice. Once agreement is reached, the works will be undertaken.
	Consideration is also being given to potential alternative uses for the property before marketing but this requires the formal agreement of the landlord to vary the terms of the lease and discussions are in hand with the landlord.
	The availability of the property has for some time been included on the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PIMS)-the central database of Government civil estate managed by the Office of Government Commerce.

Health Services: Isle of Man

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2010,  Official Report, column 56W, on health services: Isle of Man, how many individuals have their details on the dataset; and how much he estimates it would cost to redact personal information from the dataset.

Gillian Merron: Around 2,800 individual patient records are contained within the dataset. To print, sort, redact and check the records would incur disproportionate costs.

Health Services: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on NHS healthcare in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The following table shows the amount spent on health care services by Milton Keynes primary care trust from 2002-03 to 2008-09, which are the only years for which information is available by organisation.
	
		
			  Milton Keynes PCT: Purchase of health care, 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			  £000 
			   Health care 
			   Primary  Secondary  Other  Total 
			 2008-09 77,346 210,309 476 288,131 
			 2007-08 72,133 197,874 427 270,434 
			 2006-07 70,386 174,667 316 245,369 
			 2005-06 62,660 192,761 259 255,680 
			 2004-05 56,529 167,612 342 224,483 
			 2003-04 51,109 145,808 140 197,057 
			 2002-03 38,034 140,139 388 178,561 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of Milton Keynes PCT.

Health Services: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses were employed in Milton Keynes in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information requested is contained within the following table.
	
		
			  All doctors and qualified nursing staff in Milton Keynes: as at 1997  to  2008 
			   N umbers (headcount) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust 
			 All Doctors(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a 176 178 186 191 201 215 228 224 
			  Of which: 
			 Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) Doctors(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a 51 49 62 62 65 67 75 74 
			 General Practitioners (GPs) n/a n/a n/a n/a 125 129 124 129 136 148 153 150 
			  
			 Total Qualified Nursing Staff n/a n/a n/a n/a 446 471 465 496 535 516 545 506 
			  Of which: 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff n/a n/a n/a 377 383 380 409 448 421 450 451  
			 GP Practice nurses n/a n/a n/a n/a 69 88 85 87 87 95 95 55 
			  
			 All doctors(1) 39 39 51 48 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Of which: 
			 HCHS doctors(1) 39 39 51 48 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 GPs n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			 Total qualified nursing staff 357 374 385 365 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Na/ 
			  Of which: 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 357 374 385 365 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 GP practice nurses n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust 
			 All doctors(1) 147 153 168 169 173 181 205 239 283 275 279 301 
			  Of which: 
			 HCHS doctors(1) 147 153 168 169 173 181 205 239 283 275 279 301 
			 GPs n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			 Total qualified nursing staff 573 606 671 804 818 829 824 1009 875 908 756 832 
			  Of which: 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 573 606 671 804 818 829 824 1,009 875 908 756 832 
			 GP practice nurses n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not applicable. (1) Data excludes Medical HPCAs, most of which are GPs working part-time in hospitals 1. Data as at 30 September each year 2. Data are shown here by organisations in operation at the time 3. GP Practice data prior to 2001 is not available in the Milton Keynes area due to the regional division of predecessor organisations 4.  Data Quality The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) the Government paid the Isle of Man government and  (b) the Isle of Man government paid the Government for the cost of emergency admission to hospital and treatment under the reciprocal health agreement in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Gillian Merron: Under the current bilateral health care agreement, no monies change hands for emergency treatment provided in the United Kingdom, or the Isle of Man. An annual allocation (currently £2.8 million) is provided by the UK Government, to the Isle of Man Government, for additional elective treatment within the national health service.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions will govern the exemption from charging of certain categories of UK residents admitted to hospital to receive emergency hospital treatment in the Isle of Man following the ending of the reciprocal health agreement between the UK and the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The exemptions that apply under the National Heath Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, apply only to those accessing the national health service. As such, the exemptions do not extend to United Kingdom nationals accessing other health care systems, including the Isle of Man. Accident and emergency treatment will continue to be provided free of charge both in the UK and the Isle of Man.

Health Visitors: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were employed in Leeds North West constituency in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of health visitors in the Leeds Primary Care Trust (PCT) area as at 30 September each year.
	
		
			   Headcount 
			 2002 165 
			 2003 181 
			 2004 213 
			 2005 195 
			 2006 175 
			 2007 166 
			 2008 158 
			  Notes: 1. Leeds PCT was formed in October 2006 from a complete merger of Leeds West PCT, Leeds North East PCT, East Leeds PCT, South Leeds PCT and Leeds North West PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. It is not possible to map work force figures for these organisations prior to the creation of the PCTs in 2002.  2. Data Quality: the Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Hip Replacements

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hip replacement operations have been cancelled at NHS hospitals in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The number of cancelled operations for hip replacement is not collected centrally.
	The Department collects data on the number of operations cancelled on the day of admission or day of operation, for non-clinical reasons, on a quarterly basis. However, these are not broken down to treatment function/specialty level. The latest published data can be found at the following web address:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_112182

Home Care Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2010,  Official Report, columns 470-1W, on care homes finance, whether the efficiency savings are the same as those local authorities are required to find to contribute towards the cost of providing free personal care at home for people in the greatest need.

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2010,  Official Report, columns 470-1W, on care homes: finance, whether the efficiency savings referred to are those which local authorities are required to find to contribute towards the cost of providing free personal care at home for people with the highest needs.

Phil Hope: Yes. The pre-Budget report announcement of £250 million efficiency savings from reducing variations in spend on residential care is an example of how savings can be made
	either to help meet the cost of providing free personal care at home for people in the greatest need, or to help meet wider pressures from demographic change.

Hospitals: Gardens

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of expenditure on gardening and landscaping at NHS hospitals in the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department does collect information on grounds maintenance costs, but this is a much broader category. This information relates to the pay and non-pay costs involved in the upkeep and maintenance of the grounds, gardens and external paths of the organisation site. It includes labour costs for all directly employed and contract staff. The information for the last five years is provided in the table.
	
		
			   Grounds and gardens maintenance costs (£) 
			 2008-09 30,018,479 
			 2007-08 26,812,963 
			 2006-07 28,051,758 
			 2005-06 25,812,801 
			 2004-05 24,424,117 
		
	
	The information has been supplied by the national health service and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to make an assessment of the report of the inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust commissioned by his Department and chaired by Robert Francis QC; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust inquiry's report was published on 24 February 2010. I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 24 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 309-25.

Midwives: North West

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of midwives  (a) employed and  (b) required in (i) Chorley, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the North West.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of qualified midwifery staff in the North West strategic health authority (SHA) area and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS foundation trust as at 30 September 2008.
	It is the responsibility of the national health service locally to plan, develop and improve health services according to the health care needs of their local populations and this includes ensuring the adequate provision of midwives.
	
		
			  Organisation  Midwifery headcount 
			 North West SHA area 3,892 
			  Of which:  
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS foundation trust 226 
			  Notes:  1. September 2008 is the latest available data. September 2009 is due to be published at the end of March.  2. Data Quality: The Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost of the new surgical unit at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton; and what such estimate he had made in February 2009;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse was of building work carried out at Musgrove Park Hospital in the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The Department holds information on the major capital investment schemes that have been completed at Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in the last five years.
	The new cancer centre at Musgrove Park hospital was completed in July 2009 with a capital value of £21 million. Minor works were completed in April 2008 with a capital value of £1.2 million. The cardio catheter laboratory was completed in August 2007 with a capital value of £6.6 million.
	Details of proposals being developed by Trusts such as that for the new surgical unit are not held by the Department. This is a matter for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Rosalinde Wyke, Chair of Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member's inquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

NHS: Construction

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which planned NHS building projects his Department has withdrawn support in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: None.

NHS: Finance

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an estimate of the revenue which accrued to the NHS from the treatment of private patients at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: We are informed by the chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) that in 2008-09 (the latest 12 month period for which audited data is available) the total income received by Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust from treating private patients was £1.82 million, which is calculated to 1.04 per cent. against its Private Patient Income Cap of 1.6 per cent.

NHS: Finance

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the NHS has made to  (a) NHS-related charities and  (b) NHS bodies as a result of the Icelandic banking collapse.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has been notified of two instances where payments were made by national health service bodies to support NHS organisations or related charities affected by the Icelandic banking collapse.
	Firstly, the North West Strategic Health Authority forewent £6.5 million of its own capital funding in order to provide support to the Christie Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust cancer services development programme, after the trust lost a significant proportion of its investment funds following the collapse of the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.
	Secondly, the nine primary care trusts from the South Central Strategic Health Authority have made a total of £1.5 million available to the Naomi House Children's Hospice Charity after it also lost deposits held in Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.
	The Department is not aware of any other similar instances where payments have been made.

NHS: Manpower

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by primary care trusts in England in the direct provision of health services to patients.

Ann Keen: A table showing the number of staff by organisation type, including primary care trusts has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Parking

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was raised from  (a) parking charges and  (b) parking fines at car parks operated by NHS bodies in each of the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: These data are not collected centrally.
	The management of national health service car parking is the responsibility of the NHS organisations locally. This includes the use of parking fines if the NHS consider it appropriate to reduce congestion and deter misuse of the facilities provided.
	A consultation exercise on the provision of free car parking to NHS inpatient visitors and outpatients concluded on the 23 February 2010. The report analysing the responses will be published in due course.

NHS: Public Transport

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the effectiveness of public transport networks serving hospitals and GP surgeries; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Department links with the Department for Transport with regard to transport planning and the provision of supporting guidance for the national health service. Guidance document 'Health Technical Memorandum 07-03 Transport management and car parking' provides advice about effective transport management, emphasising the importance of collaboration with local authorities and public transport coordinators on a community strategic networking basis. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.
	Effective public transport networks to serve health care facilities, including general practitioner practices, are achieved through local discussion between transport providers, local authorities and local health care organisations. The effective provision, which is determined at local level, takes into account the availability of public transport networks in the required area. In addition, this may be achieved through the town planning system.
	The Department has recently been engaged with Department for Transport to produce the 'Active Travel Strategy' (February 2010), which advocates that healthy activity such as walking and cycling should also be positive options to access health care facilities. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Sight Impaired

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS Summary Care Record system can include information on the preferred alternative format for communication with blind or partially-sighted patients.

Mike O'Brien: The information in the summary care record (SCR) of patients who choose to have a SCR is initially extracted from the general practitioner's record. Information can then be added and updated by the treating clinician, with the patient's express permission, including any information which the clinician or the patient regard as relevant to management of the patient's health.
	There is a section in the SCR for demographic information which provides for patients' communication preferences to be recorded, for example, in the case of blind or partially-sighted patients, large print, Braille or audio.

Nurses: Pay

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary of a nurse in the NHS was in the latest year for which information is available.

Ann Keen: The average salary for a nurse in the national health service in 2009 was £33,300.
	 Notes:
	In the context of this answer the term "Nurse in the NHS" has been interpreted as a qualified nurse.
	Average earnings figure.*
	 Source:
	* NHS Information Centre NHS Staff Earnings July-September 2009.

Nurses: Schools

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) qualified and  (b) other school nurses are employed in each (i) region and (ii) primary care trust; and how many such nurses were employed in each such area in 2004.

Ann Keen: A table containing the number of school nurses employed in each strategic health authority and primary care trust in 2004 and 2008 has been placed in the Library. Data for 2009 will be available when the annual workforce census is published on 25 March 2010.

Nurses: Schools

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of  (a) secondary schools and  (b) associated primary school clusters are served by a full-time school nurse.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Our child health strategy "Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures" (published February 2009) recognised the importance of school health services. In particular, that school health teams provide a key link between education and health services, providing guidance and support on a range of health-related issues.
	The Healthy Child Programme, published in October 2009, will be of further assistance in determining the composition of school health teams, which will vary from locality to locality according to local needs and service configurations. In most cases, they will have school nurses at their core, working with other professionals and support staff. The latest available figures for the number of national health service employed nurses working in a school environment show an increase of over 50 per cent., from 2,409 in 2004 to 3,643 nurses in 2008.

Pyrazinamide and Streptomycin

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are plans to license  (a) pyrazinamide and  (b) streptomycin for use in the UK.

Mike O'Brien: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted a marketing authorisation, to Merck Sharp and Dohme, for a product containing pyrazinamide alone. It is indicated for the treatment of patients with active tuberculosis.
	However, the new owners of the product, Genus Pharmaceuticals Ltd., informed the MHRA in 2007 that they were not currently marketing this product in the United Kingdom.
	There are no pending applications for other products containing pyrazinamide alone indicated for treatment of patients with tuberculosis.
	The MHRA granted a marketing authorisation, to UCB Pharma Ltd., for a product containing streptomycin sulphate alone. This product is indicated for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.
	This product is supplied on a named patient basis in the UK.
	There are no pending applications for other products containing streptomycin alone indicated for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.

Schizophrenia: Drugs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been undertaken of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guideline on Schizophrenia, updated in March 2009, in respect of its compliance with  (a) human rights and  (b) mental capacity legislation relating to choice on whether to take medication.

Phil Hope: We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is an independent body and is responsible for ensuring that its guidance is compliant with relevant legislation.

Supranuclear Palsy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group in each area have been (i) diagnosed with and (ii) treated for progressive supranuclear palsy in each of the last five years;
	(2)  whether he has made an estimate of the number of  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group in each area diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy who died in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of people diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy is not collected centrally.
	We have made no estimate of the number of people dying from progressive supranuclear palsy.

Tranquillisers and Antidepressants

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) tranquillisers and  (b) anti-depressants were prescribed (i) in total and (ii) per head in each primary care trust in England in each year since 2006; and what the net ingredient cost (A) in total and (B) per head was in each trust in each such year.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	Tranquillisers are defined as all those items appearing in paragraph 4.1.2 'Anxiolytics' of the British National Formulary (BNF) and anti-depressants defined as those items appearing in section 4.3 'Antidepressant drugs' of the BNF.
	In October 2006, there was a reorganisation of primary care trusts (PCTs) and the 303 PCTs became 152 with some being abolished, others continuing and new ones being created. It is therefore not possible to give figures per head for each PCT in 2006. They have therefore not been included in the response.

West Dorset General Hospitals Trust

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that West Dorset General Hospitals Trust  (a) improves its financial performance and  (b) balances its budget;
	(2)  what discussions he had with the West Dorset General Hospitals Trust on his recent visit to Dorchester Hospital on the funding of redundancies.

Andy Burnham: I met with governors of the trust to hear first hand about its financial difficulties. The trust is working closely with the Department, the strategic health authority and Monitor to develop a robust plan for a sustainable financial recovery.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) name,  (b) location and  (c) score was of each of the 136 housing projects giving funding under round one of the Kickstart Building for Life.

John Healey: The names and locations of successful round one Kickstart schemes are available on HCA's website:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/public/documents/kickstart-schemes-approve%20261109%20projects%20by%20region.pdf
	HCA and CABE will produce detailed reports on all aspects of the delivery of Kickstart rounds one and two, including design, following the conclusion of the round two assessment process. These reports will include details of the design assessments undertaken on each scheme.

Affordable Housing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been sold to first-time buyers under the First Time Buyers Initiative since its inception.

Ian Austin: Provisional estimates are that there were 2,350 homes sold to first-time buyers under the First Time Buyers Initiative since its inception to September 2009.

Affordable Housing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sales there have been under the Rent to Homebuy scheme since its inception.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 265W.

Affordable Housing: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what allocations have been made to each region by the Homes and Communities Agency under the  (a) HomeBuy Direct,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) Open Market HomeBuy,  (d) First Time Buyer's Initiative,  (e) Social Homebuy and  (f) Rent to HomeBuy schemes for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2008-11.

John Healey: The following table shows allocations made through the Homes and Communities Agency for 2009-10 and 2008-11 both to the end of January 2010 by region for HomeBuy Direct; New Build HomeBuy; Open Market HomeBuy; First Time Buyer's Initiative; Social HomeBuy and Rent to HomeBuy. The allocations shown are in respect of those made each year for 2008-09 and 2009-10 to end of January 2010 respectively. Allocations for 2010-11 will not be made until the next financial year. The 2009-10 allocations are included in the overall 2008-11 figures.
	
		
			Allocation (£ million) 
			  Sub-product type  Region  2008-11  2009-10 
			  (a) HomeBuy Direct Eastern 55.60 55.60 
			  East Midlands 35.66 35.66 
			  London 20.00 20.00 
			  North East 33.13 33.13 
			  North West 50.14 50.14 
			  South East 53.54 53.54 
			  South West 51.37 51.37 
			  West Midlands 42.69 42.69 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 45.62 45.62 
			  Total 387.75 387.75 
			 
			  (b) New Build HomeBuy Eastern 33.79 10.21 
			  East Midlands 21.15 2.43 
			  London 302.78 128.74 
			  North East 5.85 1.08 
			  North West 47.72 2.85 
			  South East 76.75 24.21 
			  South West 38.54 19.51 
			  West Midlands 36.24 6.48 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 21.08 3.22 
			  Total 583.91 198.72 
			 
			  (c) Open Market HomeBuy Eastern 67.18 30.71 
			  East Midlands 10.57 2.50 
			  London 123.49 53.08 
			  North East 1.07 0.41 
			  North West 8.86 2.38 
			  South East 116.24 51.21 
			  South West 38.22 13.80 
			  West Midlands 18.40 7.10 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 13.10 4.84 
			  Total 397.11 166.04 
			 
			  (d) First Time Buyer's Initiative Eastern 26.85 0.00 
			  East Midlands 11.49 0.00 
			  London 75.39 0.00 
			  North East 9.20 0.00 
			  North West 27.70 0.00 
			  South East 82.86 0.00 
			  South West 36.08 0.00 
			  West Midlands 18.49 0.00 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 9.99 0.00 
			  Total 298.04 0.00 
			 
			  (e) Social Homebuy Eastern 1.16 0.00 
			  East Midlands 0.17 0.00 
			  London 8.77 0.11 
			  North East 0.51 0.00 
			  North West 1.28 0.02 
			  South East 1.29 0.00 
			  South West 0.90 0.01 
			  West Midlands 0.83 0.01 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 0.30 0.05 
			  Total 15.22 0.19 
			 
			  (f) Rent to HomeBuy Eastern 27.64 5.21 
			  East Midlands 21.68 7.23 
			  London 176.31 84.98 
			  North East 1.74 0.75 
			  North West 23.31 7.93 
			  South East 13.19 3.96 
			  South West 22.24 14.57 
			  West Midlands 10.58 3.98 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 16.95 10.63 
			  Total 313.63 139.24

Affordable Housing: Newcastle upon Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which 33 sites were presented for consideration to the Homes and Community Agency as sites for new and affordable housing development by Newcastle upon Tyne City Council;
	(2)  how much funding has been provided to each of the projects in Newcastle upon Tyne supported by the  (a) Homes and Communities Agency and  (b) National Affordable Homes Programme in the last 12 months.

John Healey: It is not clear which 33 sites are referred to in the question and therefore we are unable to provide this information.
	Investment by the Homes and Communities Agency in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the 12 months to 31 December 2009 broken down by programme is as follows:
	
		
			  Programme  Spend for 12 months to 31 December 2009 (£) 
			 National Affordable Housing Programme 6,320,000 
			 Property and Regeneration 288,835 
			 Places for change 426,940 
			 Housing Market Renewal Grant(1) 44,828,347 
			 Total 51,844,122 
			 (1) This is spend for the Newcastle Gateshead Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder. It has not been possible to disaggregate the spend between the two areas. In addition, £48.6 million Decent Homes ALMO funding has been allocated to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne for 2009-10 financial year. This funding, while not direct Homes and Communities Agency funding, is managed and monitored by the Homes and Communities Agency on behalf of Ministers.

Association of Home Information Pack Providers: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has provided  (a) directly and  (b) by indirect means to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers since that body's inception.

Ian Austin: The Department has not provided any financial assistance to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, either directly or indirectly.

Bullying: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many formal complaints of  (a) bullying and (b) harassment were submitted by staff of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during the period of its existence as a Government department.

Barbara Follett: According to the information available to us, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received 13 formal complaints of bullying and harassment from its staff during the period of the Department's existence. Bullying and harassment were classified as one issue by that Department.

Community Development: Roehampton

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding was granted under the  (a) Working Neighbourhoods Fund,  (b) Neighbourhood Renewal Fund,  (c) Deprived Area Fund,  (d) Local Enterprise Growth Initiative,  (e) New Deal for Communities,  (f) Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders,  (g) New Communities Fund,  (h) European Regional Development Fund,  (i) Inspiring Communities Grant,  (j) Connecting Communities,  (k) Single Regeneration Budget,  (l) Land and Property Programme and  (m) other regeneration programmes to Roehampton ward in each year since 2000.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 10 February,  Official Report, column 1027W, which details funding for these programmes by each local authority in London

Community Infrastructure Levy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities will be able to negotiate flexible Community Infrastructure Levy rates on a site-by-site basis to assist particular regeneration schemes.

Ian Austin: CIL Regulations provide that charging schedules may include differential rates where they can be justified either on the basis of the economic viability of development in different parts of the authority's area or by reference to the economic viability of different types of development within their area.
	As an additional measure, the CIL regulations also provide for an exceptional cases procedure, through which (subject to certain conditions) individual developments could apply for a reduced CIL liability where its payment would render the development unviable. It will be for charging authorities to decide whether to permit such a procedure in their area and each request will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Community Infrastructure Levy will be optional for local planning authorities.

Ian Austin: The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is provided for by sections 205 to 225 of the Planning Act 2008. Section 206(1) of this Act states that "a charging authority may charge CIL in respect of development of land in its area". As potential charging authorities, local planning authorities will therefore be able to choose whether they decide to charge CIL in their area or not, to meet local infrastructure needs.

Council Housing: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much was allocated to the local authority new build fund from the  (a) Budget 2009 announcements and  (b) Housing Pledge;
	(2)  how much was allocated to the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme from the  (a) programmes announced in Budget 2009 and  (b) Housing Pledge.

John Healey: The local authority new build, and the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme are programmes announced as part of the housing stimulus package. Funding levels were announced at Budget 2009 and in the Housing Pledge, part of the Prime Minister's Building Britain's Future announcement. The budgets for each programme are published in the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) corporate plan 2009-10-2010-11.

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes from local authority housing stock in Castle Point were disposed of in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information on disposals of local authority stock can be estimated from information on right to buy, other local authority sales, large-scale voluntary transfers and small scale transfers to registered social landlords, and demolitions.
	Information on all sales of local authority stock (including large-scale voluntary transfers and small scale transfers to registered social landlords, right-to-buy sales and other local authority sales) is collected from local authorities on the Quarterly Housing Monitoring (PIB) return. This information is published to local authority district level on the Communities and Local Government website in table 648:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1319863.xls
	Information on local authority demolitions is reported by local authorities, for the financial year, on the Business Plan Statistical Appendix (BPSA) return. BPSA data returns since 2001-02 are available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/localauthorityhousing/dataforms/

Council Housing: Standards

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to local authorities on  (a) the fitting of individual thermostats for radiators under the Decent Homes Programme and  (b) individual billing of heating for tenants in council housing served by communal heating systems.

Ian Austin: holding answer 26 February 2010
	 The Department will shortly be publishing, jointly with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Household Energy Management Strategy setting out the Government's proposals to improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock to reduce carbon emissions. This will be supported by a range of guidance on which we will be consulting in due course.

Council Housing: Standards

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on costs arising from the replacement of communal heating systems in council housing stock dating from the 1980s.

Ian Austin: holding answer 26 February 2010
	 There have been no policy discussions between local authorities and the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding the costs involved in replacing communal heating systems.

Council Housing: Standards

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the thermal efficiency of windows fitted during works funded through the Decent Homes Programme.

Ian Austin: holding answer 26 February 2010
	 The Decent Homes standard does not include any specification for the thermal efficiency of windows a landlord may decide to fit as part of their local decent homes programme. The standard is a minimum standard that homes must not fall below not a standard that work should be completed to.

Council Housing: Standards

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who is responsible for inspecting works conducted on council housing stock to ensure compliance with the decent homes standard; and what mechanisms exist for appeals from residents where works are determined not to have reached the required standard.

Ian Austin: holding answer 26 February 2010
	 A local authority is responsible for ensuring that their social housing stock does not fall below the Decent Homes standard and the works they do comply with the standard. If a council tenant considers that their home falls below the standard they should make a formal complaint to the local authority. If, after this process, they consider the local authority has treated them unfairly then they may make a complaint to the local government ombudsman.

Counsellors: Allowances

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much all local authorities spent on allowances and expenses for counsellors in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: We do not collect or report on allowances paid to local authority members, which are matters for each council to decide, having regard to the recommendations of their independent remuneration panel. Councils are accountable for their decisions on allowances to their electorate and are required to make publicly available each year a statement of the amount of allowances paid to each member.

Departmental Meetings

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) special advisers in his Department have had with representatives of (i) the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, (ii) Luther Pendragon and (iii) Quintus Public Affairs in the last 12 months.

Ian Austin: I met with representatives from the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) on 25 November 2009. AHIPP were also represented at a meeting of home buying and selling stakeholders that I chaired on 15 December 2009. I am not aware of any meetings with Luther Pendragon or Quintus during the last 12 months.

Disadvantaged: Roehampton

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level was of each indicator of deprivation in Roehampton ward as measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation in each year since 2000.

Rosie Winterton: The score and rank in each domain for the Roehampton ward are provided in the table where a rank of one would represent the most deprived ward and a rank of 8,414 would represent the least deprived ward.
	
		
			  Roehampton Ward 
			 Index of Multiple Deprivation Score 40.05 
			 Rank of Index of Multiple Deprivation 1,116 
			 Income Domain Score 34.61 
			 Rank of Income Domain 897 
			 Employment Domain Score 17.49 
			 Rank of Employment Domain 1,123 
			 Health Domain Score .89 
			 Rank of Health Domain 1,431 
			 Education Domain Score .56 
			 Rank of Education Domain 2,203 
			 Housing Domain Score 1.33 
			 Rank of Housing Domain 641 
			 Access Domain Score -.59 
			 Rank of Access Domain 6,312 
			 Child Poverty Index Score Rank of 66.74 
			 Child Poverty Index 206

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2010,  Official Report, column 1135W, on the Audit Commission: internet, what timetable has been set for publishing online the names of those councils which operate fortnightly refuse collections; and if he will request the Audit Commission to undertake a statistical analysis of the dataset in respect of the relationship between public satisfaction with waste collection services and the frequency of refuse collection services.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I will ask the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 2 March 2010:
	Information has now been received from DEFRA on the frequency of household waste collection. The Commission is already undertaking a statistical analysis of this data and comparing it with the published information included with the place survey on satisfaction with waste collection. Once the analysis has been completed for every district in England the information will be made publicly available on the Oneplace website:
	http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk/Pages/default.aspx
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Driveways: Planning Permission

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to expedite the implementation of new planning regulations to allow the resurfacing of driveways with permeable paving materials without the requirement for planning permission.

Ian Austin: The Government's online service for planning, the planning portal, includes advice and guidance on how to implement the new planning regulations which allow surfacing of driveways with permeable paving materials. Similar advice together with the regulations is also on the departmental website. Ultimately it is for local authorities to encourage householders to make use of permeable materials, especially where there are particular risks of surface water run off leading to flooding. Local authorities are also responsible for enforcement where the new regulations are not observed.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish a copy of the assessment undertaken for the Housing Act 2004 on whether the Act's provisions on empty dwelling management orders were compatible with the right to property in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ian Austin: The Housing Act 2004 is fully compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights as stated by Lord Rooker when introducing the provisions during the passage of the Bill.

Energy Performance Certificates

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many actions for non-compliance with energy performance certificates had been issued to landlords in the public sector by training standards officers on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: No information is collected centrally about the number of penalty notices that have been issued by trading standards officers for non-compliance with the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/991).

Energy Performance Certificates

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many display energy certificates for public buildings were recorded with the Landmark Agency in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Ian Austin: The number of display energy certificates (DEC) for public buildings recorded on the DEC register operated by Landmark Information Group Ltd in  (a) 2008 is 12,832; and  (b) 2009 is 27,379.

Exeter and Devon (Structural Changes) Order 2010

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to page 26 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Exeter and Devon (Structural Changes) Order 2010, 
	(1)  for what reason the 600 performance items have not been incorporated into the National Indicator Set;
	(2)  what each of the 600 performance items requested by the Government and inspectorates is; and what each of the 200 indicators referred to in his Department's press release of 20 January 2010 is.

Rosie Winterton: The reference to 600 performance items is from a research document "Mapping the Local Government Performance Landscape." The research was commissioned by DCLG, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in July 2006. We do not hold the data which underpinned the research. The findings of the research is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/151585.pdf
	The 2006 Local Government White Paper "Strong and Prosperous Communities" committed to establishing a new local performance framework to replace the performance landscape of the time and streamline the separate performance arrangements at the local level. This new local performance framework was introduced from April 2008.
	The press release referring to the National Indicator Set, is one element of the new local performance framework. The 2006 Local Government White Paper "Strong and Prosperous Communities" committed to establishing a single set of indicators of around 200 indicators measuring national priority outcomes delivered by local authorities working alone or in partnership. The National Indicator Set was introduced from April 2008 and currently contains 188 indicators. Further detail on the National Indicator Set is available at:
	http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/localgov/audit/nis/pages/default.aspx

Fire Services: Industrial Disputes

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any fire authorities beside London have entered into contracts to provide fire cover in the event of industrial action according to records held by  (a) the Chief Fire Adviser,  (b) Firebuy and  (c) the Fire Service College.

Shahid Malik: The Office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Firebuy and the Fire Service College have no record of any fire and rescue authorities, other than London, which have entered into contracts with third parties to provide fire cover during industrial action.

Floods: Gardens

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 20 July 2009,  Official Report, column 812W, on floods: gardens, if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report on permeable and impermeable surfacing.

Ian Austin: The research report 'Understanding permeable and impermeable surfaces' was published on 14 September 2009. It can be accessed on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/permeablesufacesreport.pdf
	I have arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.

Government Office for London: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2010,  Official Report, column 634W, on Government Offices for the Regions: procurement, how much the Government Office for London spent on  (a) Digby Trout Restaurants,  (b) Marks and Spencer and  (c) The Peace Alliance; and (i) on what dates and (ii) for what purpose that expenditure was incurred.

Rosie Winterton: Details of the Government Office for London's procurement are below. All costs relate to 2008-09.
	
		
			  Company  Invoice date  Purpose of Expenditure  Cost (£) 
			 Digby Trout Restaurants 3 July 2008 Conference refreshments 1,274.88 
			 Marks and Spencer (Lunch to Go) April 2008 to March 2009 Refreshments for external meetings 882.29 
			 The Peace Alliance 18 March 2008 Support the charitable London Peace Awards 500.00 
			 Total   2,657.17

Government Office for the East of England: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2010,  Official Report, column 634W, on Government Offices for the Regions: procurement, how much the Government Office for the East of England paid to the Cambridge Hog Roast Company; on what dates; and for what purpose.

Rosie Winterton: GO-East paid £920 to the Cambridge Hog Roast Company to supply catering at an event involving all staff at the Government office, held at the Cass Centre in Cambridge on the afternoon of 9 July 2008. Reflecting the changing role of the organisation, the event was held to give staff the opportunity to learn more about each other's work and share examples of their achievements.

Government Office for the South West: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2010,  Official Report, column 634W, on Government Offices for the Regions: procurement, how much the Government Office for the South West spent on Lyngford House in 2008-09; on what dates the venue was hired; for what purposes the venue was hired; and how many officials attended on each occasion.

Rosie Winterton: The Government office for the south-west spent £816.50 on Lyngford House in 2008-09 for development sessions for 11 senior (Grade 6) staff. Sessions took place on 19 September 2008 and 12usb January 2009.

Government Offices for the Regions: Expenditure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much programme expenditure was directed through each Government Office in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 23 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 485-86W.

Government Offices for the Regions: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has contributed to the  (a) administrative and  (b) programme expenditure of each regional Government Office in each year since 2003; and what the equivalent forecast figures are for (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Rosie Winterton: The contributions from Communities and Local Government to the Government offices administrative budget are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 55,950,000 
			 2004-05 57,290,000 
			 2005-06 60,060,000 
			 2006-07 55,980,000 
			 2007-08 57,013,000 
			 2008-09 55,780,000 
			 2009-10 53,537,000 
			 2010-11 48,405,000 
			 2011-12 (1)- 
			 (1) Not yet determined 
		
	
	Programme expenditure which passes through the Government office network remains the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for the individual sponsor Departments and is accounted for by those Departments so a full picture of programme funding could be identified only at a disproportionate cost.

Government Offices for the Regions: Mass Media

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government Office in each region has spent on media monitoring services in each of the last five years; and what companies were used by each office.

Rosie Winterton: In the past, a number of Government Offices have taken media monitoring contracts to inform their role, including provision of regional intelligence to Whitehall Departments.
	The means of doing this has varied between in house and use of contracted services. As of this year (2009-10) following a review of GO communications activity, there has been one media monitoring contract with TNS Media Monitoring Services which covers the whole GO Network. That contract operates from 2 June 2009 to 31 March 2010 with a total cost of £ 110,000 paid for by the Network centrally.
	
		
			  Media monitoring providers for Government Offices in the last five years 
			  GO  Year  Provider  Costs (£) 
			 GO East 2005-06 Records archived and unavailable 0 
			  2006-07 Central Office of Information (COI) (1)6,500 
			  2007-08 TNS Media Monitoring Services (1)3,000 
			  2008-09 TNS Media Monitoring Services(2) - 
			 
			 GO North East 2005-06 COI 5,499 
			  2006-07 COI (1)3,000 
			  2007-08 COI (1)3,000 
			  2008-09 TNS Media Monitoring Services(2) - 
			 
			 GO London 2006-09 Meltwater News 5,360.41 
			 
			 GOYH 2005-06 - n/a 
			  2006-07 COI n/a 
			  2007-08 COI 16,450 
			  2008-09 TNS Media Monitoring Services(2) 12,885.05 
			 
			 GOEM 2005-06 - 0 
			  2006-07 - 0 
			  2007-08 - 0 
			  2008-09 TNS Media Monitoring Services(2) - 
			 
			 GOSW 2005-06 COI 8,483.55 
			  2006-07 COI 29,553 
			  2007-08 COI 6,627 
			  2008-09 Meltwater News (1)7,097 
			 
			 GONW 2005-06 - 0 
			  2006-07 - 0 
			  2007-08 - 0 
			  2008-09 TNS Media Monitoring Services(2) - 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Plus VAT. (2) In 2008-09 the Network contracted media monitoring services on behalf of five Government Offices at a cost of £28,793.38.

Government Offices for the Regions: Operating Costs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the projected running costs of the Government Office in each region are for 2009-10.

Rosie Winterton: The projected running costs of the Government Offices for the Regions in 2009-10 are as follows:
	
		
			  (£) 
			 GO East 8,899,400 
			 GO East Midlands 7,856,600 
			 GO London 11,051,100 
			 GO North East 8,673,300 
			 GO North West 11,051,400 
			 GO South East 10,139,500 
			 GO South West 9,625,000 
			 GO West Midlands 11,373,700 
			 GO Yorkshire and Humber 9,049,700

Green Belt

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 1655-6W, on the green belt, in which local authority areas regional spatial strategies have recommended a review of the areas which should be designated as green belt.

Ian Austin: Regional spatial strategies (RSS) do not express any planning policies which refer to specific sites (local authority areas); they identify broad locations, which may be located in a local authority area or cross a number of local authority boundaries.

Homes and Communities Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with which organisations the (a) Homes and Communities Agency,  (b) Homes and Communities Agency Academy and  (c) Tenants Services Authority share offices; and where each such office is located.

John Healey: Information can only be provided where the Department or one of its arm's length bodies either (a) owns the freehold or (b) sub-lets space or (c) HCA/HCA Academy/TSA collocates with another body within the CLG group. Where a property is let by a private landlord, it is not for the Department to comment on their commercial arrangements. The available information is as follows:
	 Buildings with shared occupancy where HCA sub-lets space:
	 Central Business Exchange II, Milton Keynes
	HCA
	sub-let: Milton Keynes Economic Learning Partnership
	 110 Buckingham Palace road, London
	HCA
	sub-let: Environment Agency
	 Buildings with shared occupancy where CLG is the landlord or sub-lets space:
	 Belgrave Centre, Nottingham
	HCA
	Government Office
	Care Quality Commission
	Public Health
	Food Standards Agency
	National Offender Management Service
	Equality and Human Right Commission
	National Treatment Agency
	CLG Secondees
	 Lateral, Leeds
	HCA
	HCA Academy
	Government Office
	DCLG Secondees (auditors)
	National Offender Management Service
	Equality and Human Right Commission
	Highways Agency
	National Treatment Agency
	Regional Public Health
	Contractors: Amey, Fujitsu
	 5 St Phillips Place, Birmingham
	HCA
	Youth Justice Board
	Cabinet Office
	Department of Health
	Natural England
	National Offender Management Service
	National Treatment Agency
	National TUS
	Health Protection Agency
	 Rivergate House, Bristol
	HCA
	Government Office
	HM Revenue and Customs
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
	Equality and Human Right Commission
	National Treatment Agency
	Food Standards Agency
	Department of Health
	National Offender Management Service
	Youth Justice
	Care Services Improvement Partnerships
	Health Protection Agency
	 Eastbrook House, Cambridge
	TSA
	Government Office
	Department of Health
	National Treatment Agency
	Equality and Human Rights Commission
	East of England Regional Assembly
	Regional Cities East
	Care Service Improvement Partnerships
	Regional Offender Management Office
	HM Prison Service
	National Probation
	National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders
	Youth Justice Board
	 Maple House (6th and 7th floor only)
	HCA
	TSA
	The addresses for all HCA, HCA Academy and TSA offices are listed on their websites.

Homes and Communities Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff are employed in each office of the  (a) Homes and Communities Agency,  (b) Homes and Communities Agency Academy and  (c) Tenant Services Authority.

John Healey: Staff for The HCA and the HCA Academy are given in the table:
	
		
			  Location  Total 
			 Ashford 21 
			 Birmingham 33 
			 Bristol 19 
			 Buckingham Palace Road 81 
			 Cambridge 26 
			 Corby 11 
			 Croydon 19 
			 Exeter 25 
			 Gateshead 108 
			 Leeds (1)69 
			 Leicester 14 
			 Manchester 17 
			 Maple House 102 
			 Milton Keynes 154 
			 Nottingham 18 
			 Palestra 44 
			 Reading 17 
			 Telford 15 
			 Warrington 110 
			 Wolverhampton 12 
			 Graduate trainees 20 
			 Total 935 
			 (1) Of the 69 staff, 29 of these are Academy staff. This figure stands at 31 December 2009. 
		
	
	Staff for the TSA are as follows:
	
		
			  Location  Total 
			 London 127 
			 Manchester 36 
			 Cambridge(1) 16 
			 Leeds(1) 14 
			 Leicester(1) 14 
			 Wolverhampton(1) 4 
			 Total(2) 211 
			 (1) Staff in these locations work in office space belonging to either to Communities and Local Government or the Homes and Communities Agency. (2) This total excludes the 40 TSA staff who work from home.

Households: Pensioners

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of households with a pensioner head of household in each tenure sector in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10; and what proportion of such heads of household was an owner-occupier in each of those years.

Ian Austin: Estimates of the number and proportion of households with a pension age householder in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 are given in the following tables. Data for 2009-10 is not yet available. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 estimates are based on data from the Survey of English Housing; data for 2008-09 is from the English Housing Survey.
	
		
			  Pension age( 1)  households by tenure, England 
			  Thousands of households 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Owner occupiers 4,127 4,231 4,526 
			 Social renters 1,376 1,316 1,220 
			 Private renters 304 239 294 
			 All tenures 5,806 5,785 6,040 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of households 
			 Owner occupiers 71 73 75 
			 Social renters 24 23 20 
			 Private renters 5 4 5 
			 All tenures 100 100 100 
			 (1) Male householder aged 65 or over, female aged 60 or over.  Source: 2006-07 and 2007-08 CLG Survey of English Housing 2008-09 CLG English Housing Survey

Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the average deposit required of a first time buyer.

Ian Austin: The Department does not collect this information.

Housing: Construction

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing starts for housing of each type of tenure there were in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: The following table shows the number of new house building starts in Essex county and Castle Point in the December quarter of 2009.
	
		
			   Local authority 
			   Essex  Castle Point 
			 Private enterprise 898 34 
			 Registered social landlords 72 0 
			 Local authority 0 0 
			 Total 970 34 
			  Source: New build starts from P2 quarterly returns submitted by local authorities and the National House-Building Council to CLG.

Housing: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties have been brought back into housing stock by Coventry City Council in each year since 2005.

Ian Austin: Information on the number of empty properties that have been brought back into housing stock by Coventry City Council in each year since 2005 is not held centrally.

Housing: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) homes and  (b) affordable homes have been built in Coventry since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information on the number of house building completions and the number of affordable new build homes delivered in Coventry since 1997-98 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  House building completions and additional affordable new build homes delivered: Coventry, 1997-98 to 2008-09 
			   House building completions  Additional affordable new build homes delivered( 1) 
			 1997-98 * 110 
			 1998-99 * 160 
			 1999-2000 * 150 
			 2000-01 * 60 
			 2001-02 * 100 
			 2002-03 806 260 
			 2003-04 * 70 
			 2004-05 * 120 
			 2005-06 519 120 
			 2006-07 871 190 
			 2007-08 1,128 490 
			 2008-09 506 240 
			 '*' = Denotes not available. (1) Rounded to nearest 10.  Sources: 1. House building completions = Local authority returns to CLG and National House Building Council 2. Affordable new build homes = Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS) and local authority returns to CLG 
		
	
	Not all affordable housing is delivered through new build completions, supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. In 2008-09 for example a total of 270 additional affordable homes were delivered in Coventry.

Housing: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built as a result of the Kickstart initiative in Coventry to date.

John Healey: Under round one of the Kickstart initiative, allocations of £973,000 were made to schemes in Coventry to provide a total of 111 homes all of which will be built by the end of March 2011.

Housing: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home repossessions there have been in Coventry in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Housing: Energy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the average Energy Performance Certificate rating of a house built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level  (a) 1,  (b) 2,  (c) 3,  (d) 4,  (e) 5 and  (f) 6.

Ian Austin: From the information we have available, the average Energy Performance Certificate rating of houses built to the Code for Sustainable Homes various levels are as follows:
	
		
			  Code Level  Average EPC rating 
			 1 84 
			 2 87 
			 3 87 
			 4 89 
			 5 100 
			 6 100

Housing: Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to publish further proposals on reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: In the consultation paper in July, I proposed a devolved system of responsibility and funding for council housing. On 16 December I announced that the responses show strong support for the principle of self-financing. I intend to make a further announcement in the next few weeks which will describe the progress we have made on self-financing, set-out more details of my proposals and provide a summary of responses to the consultation.

Housing: Regeneration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder programme in each year since its establishment; and what the equivalent forecast figure is for  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

Ian Austin: Housing Market Renewal allocations from the beginning of the programme to 2010-11 are given in the following table. 2011-12 falls outside the current settlement period and funding levels cannot therefore be confirmed at this stage.
	
		
			  HMR Pathfinder funding( 1)  £ million( 2) 
			 2003-04 51.0 
			 2004-05 194.3 
			 2005-06 303.2 
			 2006-07 314.1 
			 2007-08 405.6 
			 2008-09 381.0 
			 2009-10 346.0 
			 2010-11 311.0 
			 (1) An additional £23.4 million was allocated for HMR programme preparation 2002-04. (2) Includes funding for the three areas of wider lower demand.

Housing: Sales

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any assessment has been made of the level of  (a) gazundering and  (b) gazumping in the housing market since the introduction of home information packs.

Ian Austin: No such assessment has been made. However, we intend to evaluate the effectiveness of HIPs by updating "The HIP Baseline Research Report", published in January 2007.

Housing: Standards

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of properties in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point which (i) have been improved under the Decent Homes programme in each year of that programme and (ii) do not meet the Decent Homes standard.

Ian Austin: The only information we hold on all the stock is the annual number of non-decents. These are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Non-decent dwelling estimates-Essex 2001-09 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Castle Point n/a n/a n/a 227 185 251 178 163 151 
			 Essex n/a n/a n/a 19,266 18,070 16,183 15,015 8,354 10,217 
			 n/a = not available  Source: Annual returns to Communities and Local Government

Housing: Thames Gateway

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built in the Thames Gateway area since 2008; and what target has been set for the number of completions by 2016.

Shahid Malik: Since 2008 to 30 September 2009, the latest period for which data is available, 5550 new dwellings (new build and conversions) have been delivered in the Thames Gateway. Data for the fourth quarter of the calendar year will be available shortly.
	The Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, published in November 2007, sets out an ambition to build 160,000 new homes between 2001 and 2016. From 1 April 2001 to 30 September 2009, 56,870 new dwellings (new build and conversions) have been added to the Thames Gateway housing stock (including the 5550 already referred to).
	The recession has impacted on the start of construction of new dwellings in the Thames Gateway as elsewhere. But the Government remains confident its ambitions are still achievable in the longer term: indeed research has shown that the Thames Gateway has the potential not only to meet but to exceed these ambitions. In the meantime, CLG and HCA continue to make every effort to sustain delivery, through initiatives like Kickstart.

Landlords: Registration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms will be used to ensure that landlords register on the proposed National Register of Landlords.

Ian Austin: Details of our proposals for the national register for landlords, including mechanisms for ensuring compliance are provided in the document which we published on 3 February-"The Private Rented Sector: Professionalism and Quality-Consultation. Summary of Responses and Next Steps."

Local Government: Partnerships

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an assessment of the effects of the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Brent London Borough Council  v. Risk Management Partners Limited on the entry of local councils into joint companies and partnerships other than mutual insurance bodies.

Rosie Winterton: Provisions to enable best value authorities to set up and participate in mutual insurance arrangements were secured in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. We have made clear that we are committed to considering further the adequacy of local authority powers following the consultation on 'Strengthening Local Democracy' (July 2009) and the responses to it. The Government are interested in extending powers-subject to certain prudential restrictions-to deal both with the issues raised in the LAML case around councils giving guarantees and indemnities to each other and also to ensure greater clarity in relation to action to drive efficiency and cost savings and so secure best value. These will be taken forward at the first legislative opportunity. Such developments are intended to ensure that councils will have a broad range of powers on which to take action in their communities' interests, building on the best value duty. The well-being power remains as a power of first resort for councils acting in relation to the social, economic and environmental well-being of their areas. The White Paper 'Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government' (December 2009) and the pre-Budget report have committed to further exploring, subject to the overall fiscal position, what further finance mechanisms, powers and flexibilities could support local authorities to drive growth and innovation most effectively.

Local Government: Pensions

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the speech made by the Minister for Local Government on 27 January 2010, how much and what proportion of the £1 billion a year savings to public service pension schemes from 2012-13 will accrue as a result of changes to the scope of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Rosie Winterton: The pre-Budget report estimated public service pension schemes will save £1 billion a year from 2012-13, and at least twice this amount over the long-term as part of reforms across public service pension schemes. These savings will flow from cap and share reforms impacting on the four main public service pension schemes provided for teachers, local authority employees, the NHS and the Civil Service. The proportion of savings to accrue to the Local Government Pension Scheme will reflect the results of its cap and share process programmed to follow the next Scheme-wide actuarial valuation exercise due on 31 March 2010.

Local Government: Pensions

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect of stock market movements between March 2007 and March 2010 on the employee contributions towards the Local Government Pension Scheme to be required from local authorities from March 2011.

Rosie Winterton: The next scheme actuarial valuation exercise takes place on 31 March 2010. It will assess all the relevant factors influencing the stability and solvency of the scheme, including the effect of recent stock market conditions and trends. New employer contribution rates to be determined by the valuation will apply from 1 April 2011 until 31 March 2014. Employee contributions are set separately by the relevant Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations.

Local Government: Redundancy Pay

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 19 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 1312-13W, on local government: redundancy pay, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the non-confidential written responses, including the record of the verbal briefing by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Rosie Winterton: The Audit Commission plans to publish its report on severance pay made to local authority chief executives in mid-March. The consultation responses from organisations will be placed on the Commission's website when the report is published. Copies of all non-confidential responses will be placed in the Library of the House.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account his Department takes of the level of support from the relevant local authorities in considering the creation of a new unitary authority.

Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State is now carefully considering the Boundary Committee's advice, all the representations he has received, including those of affected local authorities, and all other relevant information, before taking his statutory decisions about whether, to implement any of the unitary proposals before him, with or without modification, or to take no action on them.

Local Government: Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what datasets not in the National Indicator dataset are collected from local authorities by his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has three executive agencies; the Planning Inspectorate, Fire Service College, and Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. None of these agencies collect datasets outside the national indicator dataset.
	The Department does not hold information on datasets collected from local authorities by the Department's twenty associated non-departmental public bodies. Given the wide range of responsibilities and interactions those bodies have with local authorities, obtaining this information could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Local Government: Trespass

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his latest estimate is of the number of  (a) squatters,  (b) trespassers and  (c) other unauthorised occupiers of local authority properties.

Ian Austin: No data are available centrally on the total number of squatters, trespassers or other unauthorised occupiers in local authority properties.

Migration Impact Fund

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) amount,  (b) date of issuing and  (c) purpose has been of each grant made under the Migration Impact Fund.

Shahid Malik: The Migration Impacts Fund is a UK-wide £35 million fund for each of the years 2009-10 and 2010-11. The overall purpose of the fund is to reduce the short term pressure of migration on local public services. Councils and other frontline services were asked through their local strategic partnerships to identify projects in their areas.
	On the 9 July 2009 the Secretary of State announced the successful proposals for England. The specific purpose of each grant, the amount granted and the local services being supported are shown in the table which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Migration Impact Fund

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have received funding from the Migration Impact Fund; how much each has received; and what methodology was used to allocate the funding.

Shahid Malik: The Migration Impacts Fund is allocated regionally; the amount each region receives is weighted towards the areas where international migration has had the greatest short-term impact. Local Strategic Partnerships in each region were invited to bid for projects the Migration Impacts Fund could support and these were assessed by their regional Government Office. The final decision was made by the Secretary of State.
	The allocations to each local authority (per year) are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Migration Impacts Fund-Local authority funding 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  Authority  Total 2009-10  Total 2010-11 
			 Suffolk County Council 428,362 425,804 
			 Peterborough City Council 354,832 337,030 
			 Norfolk County Council 183,600 186,000 
			 Cambridgeshire County Council 403,500 364,525 
			 Breckland Council 220,000 30,000 
			 Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 85,000 85,000 
			 Hertfordshire County Council 264,000 277,000 
			 Harlow Council 220,000 190,000 
			 Luton Borough Council 272,500 317,000 
			 Derby City Council 500,000 450,000 
			 Leicester City Council 100,000 85,000 
			 Lincolnshire County Council 854,000 875,000 
			 Nottinghamshire County Council 210,000 10,000 
			 Nottingham City Council 346,836 366,874 
			 Haringey Council 297,275 324,350 
			 Enfield Council 258,000 258,000 
			 London Borough of Barnet 234,844 104,344 
			 Camden Council 241,500 260,000 
			 London Borough of Hackney 143,760 143,760 
			 Islington Council 90,000 90,000 
			 Westminster City Council 270,000 365,000 
			 Merton Council 158,000 158,000 
			 The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 102,441 102,441 
			 London Borough of Lewisham 50,000 50,000 
			 Sutton Council 43,636 23,636 
			 London Borough of Croydon 150,000 150,000 
			 London Borough of Lambeth 123,900 123,900 
			 London Borough of Southwark 294,303 300,085 
			 Wandsworth Borough Council 98,000 95,000 
			 London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 84,000 106,000 
			 London Borough of Newham 179,000 98,000 
			 London Borough of Redbridge 84,000 107,450 
			 The City of London 217,000 217,000 
			 London Borough of Tower Hamlets 60,600 60,600 
			 Waltham Forest Council 138,137 43,000 
			 Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 63,000 38,000 
			 Harrow Council 121,500 123,160 
			 London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 198,000 198,000 
			 London Borough of Brent 133,000 154,000 
			 London Borough of Ealing 350,000 350,000 
			 London Borough of Hounslow 218,000 215,300 
			 London Borough of Hillingdon 273,496 273,496 
			 London Borough of Greenwich 145,000 145,000 
			 London Borough of Havering 100,000 50,000 
			 North Tyneside Council 111,400 111,400 
			 Sunderland City Council 20,000 n/a 
			 Hartlepool Borough Council 40,000 55,000 
			 Gateshead Council 60,000 120,000 
			 Newcastle City Council 181,166 108,648 
			 Middlesbrough Council 74,095 122,675 
			 Northumberland County Council 380,591 291,240 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council 104,042 94,821 
			 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council 87,000 87,000 
			 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council 105,000 n/a 
			 Manchester City Council 550,000 550,000 
			 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council 156,550 161,247 
			 Salford City Council 159,135 100,627 
			 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council 55,000 5,000 
			 Liverpool City Council 320,000 320,000 
			 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council 342,000 309,000 
			 Wirral Borough Council 150,261 139,908 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 225,297 154,818 
			 Blackpool Council 65,000 65,000 
			 Lancashire County Council 258,964 135,410 
			 Lancaster City Council 40,086 58,463 
			 Cumbria County Council 250,000 237,000 
			 East Sussex County Council 344,513 332,023 
			 Brighton and Hove City Council 151,880 75,950 
			 Reading Borough Council 221,750 n/a 
			 Bracknell Forest Borough Council 15,000 15,000 
			 Southampton City Council 480,000 480,000 
			 Slough Borough Council 490,000 790,000 
			 Portsmouth City Council 184,813 248,225 
			 Kent County Council 352,000 257,000 
			 Thanet District Council 70,000 90,000 
			 Rushmoor Borough Council 115,000 75,000 
			 Medway Council 391,103 300,074 
			 Plymouth City Council 468,000 468,000 
			 Cornwall Council 416,777 370,900 
			 Swindon Borough Council 280,000 290,000 
			 Devon County Council 459,700 330,000 
			 Bournemouth Borough Council 290,000 190,000 
			 Somerset County Council 314,094 551,045 
			 Bristol City Council 739,982 763,965 
			 Telford and Wrekin Council 183,500 61,500 
			 Stoke on Trent City Council 85,443 78,732 
			 Warwickshire County Council 288,006 175,000 
			 Wychavon District Council 258,600 344,600 
			 Birmingham City Council 362,550 347,050 
			 Staffordshire County Council 275,000 275,000 
			 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council 250,000 250,000 
			 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council 124,999 125,000 
			 East Staffordshire Borough Council 75,000 75,000 
			 Stafford Borough Council 25,000 50,000 
			 Wolverhampton City Council 54,770 50,045 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council 153,644 89,484 
			 North Lincolnshire Council 82,143 82,143 
			 North Yorkshire County Council 118,400 118,652 
			 City of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council 116,592 183,366 
			 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council 171,400 213,000 
			 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council 133,038 169,457 
			 Calerdale Council 215,000 205,000 
			 Sheffield City Council 400,000 400,000 
			 Leeds City Council 375,000 375,000 
			 Kirklees Council 225,000 225,000 
			 Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council 425,000 325,000 
			 Doncaster Council 150,000 150,000 
			 Kingston Upon Hull City Council 150,000 150,000 
			 Total 23,581,306 22,099,223

Mortgages

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report on UK mortgage arrears and repossessions commissioned by the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit from Professor John Muellbauer.

John Healey: The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) is an independent advisory agency and publication is a matter for the NHPAU.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding he has provided to assist low income homeowners in the last 12 months.

Ian Austin: Over £1 billion has been made available to local authorities through the Regional Housing Pot over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 to help improve house conditions for the most vulnerable households as part of CSR 07. £425 million was made available for 2009-10.

Multiple Occupation: Planning Permission

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the planned timetable is for introduction of secondary legislation to require houses in multiple occupation to have planning permission.

Ian Austin: We are aiming to make the Order amending the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, which will create the HMO use class, by 8 March 2010. This order does not need to be laid before Parliament.
	We are also aiming to make the Order amending the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, which will make a change from a HMO to a C3 dwelling house permitted development, by 8 March and lay it before Parliament by 15 March 2010.
	Both amendments will come into effect on 6 April 2010.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when prescription of statutory ports ended; and what the effect of ending it was on the rating of  (a) port businesses and  (b) port owners.

Barbara Follett: The ending of prescribed rating was enacted in the Local Government Act 2003 and the statutory port authorities (owners) were subject to conventional rating from 1 April 2005. The impact on the individual port authority was that their rateable value was ascertained by the same rules of assessment that apply to all other non-domestic property instead of by a prescribed formula.
	The ending of prescribed rating had no effect on whether property occupied by other businesses within ports should be assessed separately for non-domestic rates. The principles concerning separate rateability where there is "exclusive occupation" and "paramount control" are long established. The leading case on the subject is a House of Lords decision from as far back as 1936-Westminster Council  v. Southern Railway Company and W.H. Smith and Son.
	The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly to ensure that the burden of contributions to funding local government is shared fairly among businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.
	As at 8 October 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how long the cumulo system of paying business rates by businesses in port hereditaments was prolonged in 2000; by what means the system was ended; when notice was given to port companies paying under the system that it would be ended; and when it was ended.

Barbara Follett: The term "cumulo" (artificial hereditament) has been used to describe where properties (hereditaments) within the same occupation that under the normal rules of rating would be shown as individual entries in the rating lists are shown as a single entry in the rating list.
	The ability to create an artificial port hereditament in this way is determined by regulation 5 of the Non-Domestic Rating Miscellaneous Provisions (2) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/2303), which provides that in certain circumstances two or more hereditaments occupied by a statutory port authority to be a single hereditament to be liable for non-domestic rates where for example the properties are split by a river.
	Whether a separate occupier within a port makes a contribution to business rates through their agreement with the port authority is a contractual matter between the occupier and the port authority. The cumulo is not and has never been a method for occupations that should be separately assessed for business rates to waive their liabilities.
	The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly to ensure that the burden of contributions to funding local government is shared fairly amongst businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.
	As at October 8 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Valuation Office Agency began its work on separate assessment of port businesses in ports previously rated as a single hereditament; for what reasons the Agency decided to do this; and when the work was completed.

Barbara Follett: Valuation officers are required under Section 41 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to maintain accurate rating lists. When they become aware that a change is needed, such as that at the ports, they must make the alteration and also specify the date from which the change should become effective for rates charging purposes.
	The principles concerning separate rateability where there is "exclusive occupation" and "paramount control" are long established. The leading case on the subject is a House of Lords decision from as far back as 1936-Westminster Council  v. Southern Railway Company and W.H. Smith and Son.
	The VOA rated ports and properties within ports for the 2005 list based upon information supplied by the ports operators. A significant number of separate assessments appeared in the rating lists for individual port occupiers even before the following review was initiated.
	It was only after the lists were compiled, through routine work to keep the lists up to date, it was found that the rating lists may not reflect all the separate properties within the ports. Port operators were advised by letter of the ports review and its background in May 2006. While the initial reviews have been completed, many port properties change over time and the VOA continue to make alterations to individual properties as part of its statutory duty to maintain the rating lists.
	The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly to ensure that the burden of contributions to funding local government is shared fairly among businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.
	As at 8 October 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who decided that port companies hitherto part of one port hereditament should be separately assessed for business rates.

Barbara Follett: Valuation officers are required under Section 41 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to maintain accurate rating lists. When they become aware that a change is needed, such as that at the ports, they must make the alteration and specify the date from which the change should become effective for rates charging purposes.
	The principles concerning separate rateability, which is the rating rationale for the separate assessment of some properties within ports, where there is "exclusive occupation" and "paramount control" are long established. The leading case on the subject is a House of Lords decision from as far back as 1936-Westminster Council  v. Southern Railway Company and W.H. Smith and Son.
	The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly to ensure that the burden of contributions to funding local government is shared fairly among businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.
	As at 8 October 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Private Rented Housing

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the Minister of State for Housing will meet representatives of First Track Solutions, formerly Social Homes, to discuss his Department's plans for local letting agencies.

John Healey: I meet from time to time with a wide range of representative bodies and other stakeholders with an interest in our proposals for the future of the private rented sector, including the 'local lettings agency' concept. I have no current plans to meet with individual commercial companies, including First Track Solutions (formerly Social Homes), on this topic.

Public Bodies: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of the  (a) Tenant Services Authority,  (b) Homes and Communities Agency,  (c) Audit Commission and  (d) Standards Board is expected to be in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Barbara Follett: In relation to the cost of the Tenant Services Authority I refer the hon. Member to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on June 16 2009,  Official Report, column 202W.
	The Standards Board's estimate of its annual budgets for 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 can be found in their corporate plan, which is available on the Standard Board's website at:
	www.standardsforengland.gov.uk
	The planned budgets for the Homes and Communities Agency are set out in its corporate plan for 2009-10 and 2010-11, available on the Agency's website at:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/publications
	The Audit Commission's planned income from Central Government grants as well as other sources for 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 is contained their draft strategic plan for 2010, available on the Audit Commission's website at:
	www.audit-commission.gov.uk
	It should be noted that budgets for 2011-12 have not been formally set; it is expected that this will happen as part of a comprehensive spending review during 2010.

Regional Development Agencies

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 1 February 2010,  Official Report, column 138W, on regional development agencies: mining, for what reasons representatives of the other regional development agencies were not invited to the English Coalfield forum meetings.

Rosie Winterton: The full range of stakeholders involved in the Coalfields Forum is quite wide; it includes representatives from several regeneration organisations and Government Departments. In order to keep the number of participants at each Forum meeting to a manageable size, the decision was taken to invite Yorkshire Forward to participate on behalf of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). They are the only RDA with a dedicated coalfields team.

Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much collaborative procurement spending was directed through the Regional Efficiency Improvement Partnership in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much central funding is planned to be provided to each Regional Efficiency Improvement Partnership in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

Rosie Winterton: In 2009-10, core funding for each of the nine Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) was:
	
		
			  Region  Core funding (£ million) 
			 East of England 7.952 
			 East Midlands 7.159 
			 London 7.699 
			 North East 5.674 
			 North West 8.036 
			 South East 9.707 
			 South West 7.665 
			 West Midlands 7.193 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 6.416 
			 Total 67.5 
		
	
	Indicative core funding for each RIEP in 2010-11 is the same as for 2009-10; the decision on whether to confirm these indicative allocations will be announced shortly. No decisions have been taken yet regarding core funding in 2011-12.
	Core funding is intended to enable RIEPs to meet their objectives to support the successful delivery of local area agreements and achievement of councils' £5.5 billion efficiency target by March 2011. An important activity to meet these objectives will be the promotion of collaborative procurement opportunities among local authorities. Core funding is not ring-fenced, so the decision on how much of it is to be used for this purpose is for individual RIEPs to make.
	RIEPs also receive grants from government departments to support specific activities; for example, in 2009-10, they shared £31.706 million from this Department's Efficiency and Transformation Fund to use in support of capital projects that aim to deliver public services in more customer-focused and efficient ways.

Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff work for each Regional Improvement Efficiency Partnership.

Rosie Winterton: We do not hold this information centrally.

Regional European Offices

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 1128W, on regional European offices, whether the Audit Commission has a role in auditing the finances of the  (a) regional leaders boards and regional assemblies in England outside London and  (b) regional European offices in Brussels.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 2 March 2010:
	Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
	The Audit Commission has been appointed by 4NW (the North West Regional Assembly) to audit its accounts. The necessary consent of the Secretary of State was received under section 29 of the Audit Commission Act 1998.
	We previously audited the accounts of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly up to, and including, 2008/09. Again the necessary consent was obtained.
	In both instances the Commission was approached by the relevant Regional Assembly, as the financial management of the bodies was carried out by local authorities, to which the Commission is required to make an auditor appointment under the Audit Commission Act 1998.
	The Commission does not audit the finances of Regional Leaders Boards or Regional European Offices in Brussels.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Regional Planning and Development: Thames Gateway

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much the Homes and Communities Agency spent on the Thames Gateway project in each of the last three years;
	(2)  which public bodies received funding from the Thames Gateway Fund in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to each organisation in each of those years;
	(3)  how much was paid to  (a) the South East England Development Agency and  (b) the East of England Development Agency by the Thames Gateway Fund in each of the last three years;
	(4)  how much was paid to local authorities by the Thames Gateway Fund in each of the last three years;
	(5)  how much was received by the Homes and Communities Agency from the Thames Gateway Fund in each of the last three years.

Shahid Malik: The Thames Gateway programme is set out in the Thames Gateway delivery plan published in November 2007. Until 30 November 2008 the programme was administered by the Thames Gateway Executive in Communities and Local Government. From 1 December 2008, the programme was transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency, although grant in aid for the two Thames Gateway urban development corporations continues to be paid out by Communities and Local Government.
	The development corporations, local authorities, regional development agencies and other public bodies that have received Thames Gateway funding in the three years 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10, together with the amounts, are:
	
		
			   Amounts (£) paid in: 
			  Organisation  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1) 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 44,000,000 50,000,000 35,000,000 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 59,000,000 30,000,000 30,000,000 
			 Basildon district council 2,370,693 4,436,981 6,339,117 
			 Castlepoint borough council 99,779 39,783 340,000 
			 Dartford borough council 4,068,190 4,967,821 6,217,700 
			 Gravesham borough council 1,614,038 1,434,000 1,434,000 
			 Kent county council 6,648,872 5,052,292 8,920,915 
			 London borough of Barking and Dagenham 0 0 150,000 
			 London borough of Bexley 454,235 341,490 885,000 
			 London borough of Greenwich 2,205,671 2,228,569 6,112,520 
			 London borough of Lewisham 2,057,805 471,599 3,350,805 
			 Medway council 100,000 156,561 1,560,000 
			 Southend on Sea borough council 455,954 522,016 3,000,000 
			 Swale borough council 0 0 3,000,000 
			 
			 East of England Development Agency (EEDA) 0 0 0 
			 South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) 5,553,001 358,354 4,025,000 
			 
			 Invest Thames Gateway 246,165 544,471 962,000 
			 Office of Government Commerce 236,455 0 0 
			 Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment 335,644 118,822 0 
			 Land Restoration Trust 1,170,554 5,000 0 
			 Forestry Commission 1,081,365 798,464 0 
			 Environment Agency 853,500 178,500 580,000 
			 (1) Amounts for 2009/10 are an estimate based on actual expenditure to date and forecast to the end of the financial year.

Rented Housing: Empty Property

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) local authority-owned,  (b) registered social landlord-managed and  (c) privately-owned homes were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years; how many and what proportion of privately-owned homes in each local authority area were empty in each of the last 10 years; how many privately-owned homes were returned to habitation in each of the last 10 years; how many Empty Homes Management orders have been (i) applied for and (ii) completed since such orders were introduced; what discussions he has had with the Empty Homes Agency on its proposals for a homesteading scheme; what assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of the introduction of such a scheme in reducing the number of empty homes; what estimate he has made of the cost of such a scheme in its first 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: Information on the number of  (a) local authority-owned homes that were empty for more than six months and  (c) privately-owned homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years can be found in the tables published on the Local Authority Housing Strategy and Business Plan Data page of the Communities and Local Government website at the following link. These tables present data collected in the annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and Business Planning Statistical Appendix (BPSA). Figures for some years, including 2009, may be unavailable due to changes in the format and detail of the forms used to collect these data.
	Information on the number and proportion of privately-owned homes in each local authority area that were empty in each of the last 10 years can also be found in the HSSA-based tables at the same link. Figures for some years, including 2009, may be unavailable due to changes in the format and detail of the forms used to collect these data.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/localauthorityhousing/
	These data can only be collated and presented in a single set of tables and provided in the answer to this parliamentary question at disproportionate cost.
	Information on  (b) the number of registered social landlord-managed homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years, and homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years and on the number of privately-owned homes that were returned to habitation in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally.
	To date, 29 Interim Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) have been approved by the Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS) since the legislation came into effect in April 2006. Information on the number of Empty Dwelling Management Orders applied for is not held centrally.
	My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing met with the Empty Homes Agency on 2 September 2009 and discussed a range of issues including homesteading but no formal proposals have been submitted.

Sleeping Rough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology his Department has approved for conducting rough sleeping counts.

Ian Austin: Local authorities evaluate the extent of rough sleeping within their area in accordance with the methodology on street counts set out in the Department's "Guidance on Evaluating the Extent of Rough Sleeping-2007 Revision," which was developed in conjunction with the voluntary sector. This guidance gives the following definition of rough sleepers:
	"People sleeping, or bedded down, in the open air (such as on the streets, or in doorways, parks or bus shelters); people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or "bashes").
	In 1998 there were estimated to be 1,850 rough sleepers in England. Since then good progress has been progress has been made in reducing the total number of rough sleepers to 464 in 2009, based on local authority street counts.

Social Rented Housing: Registration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes are recorded on the National Register of Social Housing; what proportion of  (a) council housing and  (b) housing association housing is on the register; and what targets the Tenant Services Authority has to increase the quantity of data held on the register.

Ian Austin: The total number of dwellings recorded on the National Register of Social Housing (NROSH) is 4.2 million.
	The proportion of council (local authority) housing recorded on NROSH is 95 per cent. The proportion of housing association (registered social landlord) housing recorded on NROSH is 96 per cent.
	The Tenants Services Authority's target, inherited from the Housing Corporation, is for all NROSH priority data fields to be populated by 31 March 2010.

Social Rented Housing: Rents

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the implementation of his Department's policy of rents convergence between local authority and housing association tenants.

John Healey: There is no fixed date established for convergence.

Social Rented Housing: Tenure

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what research on social housing tenure has been commissioned by his Department and its agencies in the last 36 months; and what such research has been completed;
	(2)  what research  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have conducted in relation to social housing rents since 2005;
	(3)  what research  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have conducted on social housing tenure, tenure eligibility and tenure security since 2005.

Ian Austin: Details of research projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and its predecessors are available from our research database (RD) at
	http://www.rmd.communities.gov.uk/
	The database provides information on projects going back to 30 November 2001. This includes the subject, contractor and cost and publication date of each research commission.

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) individuals and  (b) households were on social housing waiting lists in England in (i) April 1997 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available.

John Healey: Information is available on numbers of households rather than people or families. The number of households registered on social housing waiting lists in each local authority, each region, and in England, as at 1 April each year from 1997 to 2009, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is given as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table600.xls

Standards for England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) items of data and  (b) performance indicators the Standards Board requires local authorities to submit to it.

Rosie Winterton: In the course of each year the Standards Board requires local authority monitoring officers to complete and submit five online returns.
	Four are quarterly returns used to collect information on local case handling and legal composition of the local standards committee to enable the Standards Board to fulfil its statutory responsibilities for regulating the conduct regime including, in the worst cases of the standards committee failing to carry out its functions in relation to the conduct of members in a reasonable manner, if necessary, suspending a council's standards committee's initial assessment functions and passing its functions to another authority.
	The fifth return is an annual return enabling the Standards Board to disseminate information on best practice across local government.

Standards for England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library copies of the branding and communications advice obtained by the Standards Board in relation to its decision to rebrand itself as Standards for England.

Rosie Winterton: I am arranging with the chief executive of the Standards Board for England for a copy of the advice, commissioned by the Standards Board, to be placed in the Library of the House.

Standards for England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to abolish the Standards Board for England.

Rosie Winterton: We have no plans to abolish the Standards Board for England.

Standards for England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 19 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1321W, on Standards for England, whether Ministerial approval was sought for the rebranding of Standards Board for England as Standards for England; and whether external organisations were contracted to provide services relating to that rebranding.

Rosie Winterton: These are operational matters which the Standards Board may progress without ministerial approval.
	An external organisation was contracted to provide services relating to the rebranding, at a cost within the delegated authority of the Standards Board.

Supported Housing: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 26 January 2010,  Official Report, columns 773-4W, on supported housing, whether capital funding to areas or projects will be reduced as a consequent on the allocation of £30 million of funding to the places for 16 and 17 year old single parents.

Ian Austin: Capital funding to areas or projects will not be reduced as a consequence of the Prime Minister's announcement in September 2009.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on recent increases in the cost of joining tenancy deposit schemes.

Ian Austin: The Department has received around ten representations from letting agents about the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)'s recent fee increases. TDS is one of the two government authorised "insurance-based" tenancy deposit protection schemes which landlords pay a fee to join. The custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme, operated by the Deposit Protection Service, remains free to use.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the profits made by companies operating tenancy deposit schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: No recent assessment of the profits of the companies operating tenancy deposit protection schemes has been made. The three tenancy deposit protection schemes are operated by private companies under contract with Communities and Local Government and are designed to be self-financing.

Tesco: Planning Permission

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals relating to Tesco supermarkets have been considered by the Planning Inspectorate in the last 24 months.

Ian Austin: In the 24 month period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009 the Planning Inspectorate received 49 planning appeals and, within the same period, determined 31 planning appeals, where Tesco was either appellant or joint appellant and the development related to a retail outlet.

Working Neighbourhoods Fund

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the funding of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund beyond 2010.

Rosie Winterton: An indicative budget of £507,900,000 has been allocated for 2010-11 as part of the £1.5 billion three year (2008-11) settlement to help local authorities and their partners tackle worklessness.
	No decision has yet been taken about the Working Neighbourhoods Fund beyond 2010-11.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has allocated to the Building Schools for the Future programme to date;
	(2)  which schools in England have received funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme to date.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 1 March 2010
	Funding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is released when financial close has been reached for the school concerned. Once this milestone is reached funding is paid in instalments throughout the construction period. Table 2 lists all the schools which had reached financial close at the time of the last quarterly payment run in December 2009. They have all therefore received funding through BSF.
	The total amount of funding allocated to the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is shown in table 1 as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  Total 
			 Capital 786 927 513 630 979 3,385 
			 PFI credits 1,200 1,250 1,300 1,314 1,320 6,384 
			 Total 1,986 2,177 1,813 1,944 2,299 9,769 
			 Notes: 1. The figures shown are budgets and do not include academies procured through the Partnerships for Schools national framework. 2. It is expected that approximately £2.1 billion of capital and £1.3 billion PFI credits will be allocated to BSF in 2010-11. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Local authority  School name 
			 Barnsley Carlton 
			 Barnsley Darton School 
			 Barnsley Dearne 
			 Barnsley Kirk Balk 
			 Barnsley Penistone 
			 Birmingham Broadway School 
			 Birmingham Holte 
			 Birmingham Mayfield 
			 Birmingham Stockland Green 
			 Bradford Beckfoot 
			 Bradford Beckfoot and Hazelbeck 
			 Bradford Beechcliffe Special 
			 Bradford Buttershaw 
			 Bradford Challenge College 
			 Bradford Greenhead and Beechcliffe 
			 Bradford Hanson 
			 Bradford Hazelbeck Special 
			 Bradford New co-located SEN 
			 Bradford Parkside School 
			 Bradford Salt Grammar School 
			 Bradford Tong 
			 Bristol Ashton Park 
			 Bristol Brislington Enterprise College 
			 Bristol Cotham 
			 Bristol Florence Brown 
			 Bristol Hartcliffe Education Campus 
			 Bristol Oasis Academy 
			 Bristol Speedwell Technical College 
			 Bristol St. Bedes 
			 Bristol St. Bernadettes 
			 Bristol St. Mary Redcliffe Temple 
			 Bristol Whitefield Fishponds College 
			 Derbyshire Bolsover 
			 Derbyshire Heritage 
			 Derbyshire PRU (Derbyshire) 
			 Derbyshire Springwell (Derbyshire) 
			 Durham Easington 
			 Durham Sedgefield 
			 Durham Shotton Hall 
			 Greenwich Crown Woods 
			 Greenwich Thomas Tallis 
			 Hackney Clapton Girls Technology College 
			 Hackney Hackney Free and Parochial 
			 Hackney Stoke Newington 
			 Haringey Alexandra Park School 
			 Haringey Blanche Neville 
			 Haringey Fortismere 
			 Haringey Gladesmore Community School 
			 Haringey Heartlands High School 
			 Haringey Highgate Wood Secondary School 
			 Haringey Hornsey School for Girls 
			 Haringey John Loughborough School 
			 Haringey Moselle School 
			 Haringey Northumberland Park and The Vale 
			 Haringey Park View Academy 
			 Haringey Sixth Form Centre 
			 Haringey St. Thomas More School 
			 Haringey Vale Resource Base 
			 Haringey William C Harvey 
			 Haringey Woodside High School 
			 Haringey Young Peoples Centre (Haringey Pupil Referral Unit) 
			 Islington Highbury Grove 
			 Islington Holloway School 
			 Islington Samuel Rhodes 
			 Islington St. Aloysius College (RC) 
			 Kent Charles Dickens 
			 Kent Community College Whitstable 
			 Kent Dane Court School 
			 Kent Herne Bay High 
			 Kent Ifield 
			 Kent King Ethelbert 
			 Kent Northfleet School for Girls 
			 Kent Northfleet Technology College 
			 Kent St. Georges 
			 Kent St. Johns School 
			 Kent Thamesview School 
			 Knowsley Halewood 
			 Knowsley Highfield 
			 Knowsley Kirkby Community LC 
			 Knowsley Kirkby RC Learning Centre 
			 Knowsley Knowsley Central 
			 Knowsley Knowsley Central RC 
			 Knowsley North Huyton Joint Christian Learning Centre 
			 Knowsley South Huyton Learning Centre 
			 Lambeth Stockwell Park High School 
			 Lambeth The Elm Court School 
			 Lambeth The Elmgreen School 
			 Lambeth The Michael Tippet School 
			 Lambeth The Park Campus 
			 Lancs Accrington Academy 
			 Lancs Blessed Trinity 
			 Lancs Burnley Campus 
			 Lancs Hameldon 
			 Lancs Marsden Heights 
			 Lancs Pendle Vale 
			 Lancs Pendle Vale GLD 
			 Lancs Rose 
			 Lancs Shuttleworth College 
			 Lancs Sir John Thursby Community College 
			 Lancs Sir John Thursby co-located special 
			 Lancs Unity College 
			 Leeds Allerton Grange 
			 Leeds Allerton High 
			 Leeds Cardinal Heenan 
			 Leeds City of Leeds 
			 Leeds Cockburn 
			 Leeds Crawshaw 
			 Leeds John Smeaton Community College 
			 Leeds Priesthorpe 
			 Leeds Primrose 
			 Leeds Pudsey Grangefield 
			 Leeds Ralph Thoresby High 
			 Leeds Rodillian 
			 Leeds Swallow Hill Community College 
			 Leeds Temple Moor High 
			 Leicester Beaumont Leys Secondary School 
			 Leicester Fullhurst Community College 
			 Leicester Judgemeadow Community College 
			 Leicester Soar Valley College 
			 Lewisham Catford 
			 Lewisham Hatcham Temple Grove 
			 Lewisham Northbrook 
			 Lewisham Sedgehill 
			 Liverpool Broughton Hall 
			 Liverpool Cardinal Heenan 
			 Liverpool Ernest Cookson 
			 Liverpool Gateacre (and Hope) Schools 
			 Liverpool Hope 
			 Liverpool King David Campus 
			 Liverpool Lower Lee 
			 Liverpool The Alsop High School 
			 Liverpool West Derby (and Ernest Cookson) 
			 Luton Barnfield South Academy 
			 Luton Barnfield West Academy 
			 Luton Challney High for Girls 
			 Luton Lea Manor 
			 Manchester Brookway 
			 Manchester Buglawton Hall 
			 Manchester Buglawton Residential 
			 Manchester Burnage Boys 
			 Manchester Castlefield 
			 Manchester Gorton Village (Cedar Mount High and Melland) 
			 Manchester King David High 
			 Manchester Levenshulme (Girls) 
			 Manchester Manchester Communications Academy 
			 Manchester Meade Hill 
			 Manchester New East Manchester 
			 Manchester Newall Green School 
			 Manchester North Ridge SEN 
			 Manchester Our Lady's RC 
			 Manchester Parklands Enterprise Academy 
			 Manchester Piper Hill 
			 Manchester Plant Hill 
			 Manchester St. Matthew's RC 
			 Manchester St. Pauls 
			 Middlesbrough Acklam Grange 
			 Middlesbrough Ashdale 
			 Middlesbrough Beverley and Tollesby School 
			 Middlesbrough Ormesby 
			 Middlesbrough Priory Woods 
			 Middlesbrough Tollesby 
			 N Lincs Brumby Engineering College 
			 N Lincs Melior College 
			 Newcastle All Saints 
			 Newcastle Brunton First School 
			 Newcastle Gosforth Central 
			 Newcastle Gosforth East 
			 Newcastle Gosforth High 
			 Newcastle Gosforth West Middle 
			 Newcastle Heaton Manor 
			 Newcastle Kenton 
			 Newcastle Knoplaw Primary 
			 Newcastle Milecastle Primary 
			 Newcastle Sacred Heart 
			 Newcastle Sir Charles Parsons 
			 Newcastle St. Cuthbert's RC 
			 Newcastle St. Mary's RC 
			 Newcastle Stocksfield Avenue 
			 Newcastle Thomas Bewick 
			 Newcastle Trinity Dene View 
			 Newcastle Trinity Oakfield 
			 Newcastle Walbottle 
			 Newcastle Walker 
			 Newcastle Walkergate Primary 
			 Newcastle West Jesmond Primary 
			 Newcastle West Walker Primary School 
			 Newcastle Westgate Hill Primary 
			 Newcastle Canning Street Primary 
			 Newham Brampton Manor 
			 Newham Lister 
			 Newham Rokeby 
			 Newham Sarah Bonnell 
			 Nottingham Big Wood School 
			 Nottingham Bulwell Academy 
			 Nottingham Hadden Park 
			 Nottingham Nottingham Academy 
			 Nottingham Nottingham University Samworth Academy 
			 Nottingham Oakfields Special School Centre of Excellence 
			 Nottingham Rosehill 
			 Rochdale Hollingworth Business And Enterprise College 
			 Salford Chatsworth 
			 Salford Harrop Fold 
			 Salford Irlam and Cadishead 
			 Salford New Park 
			 Salford Oakwood High 
			 Salford Walkden High 
			 Sandwell Holly Lodge 
			 Sandwell Ruskin House PRU 
			 Sandwell St. Michael's C of E School 
			 Sandwell Westminster School 
			 Sandwell Whiteheath School 
			 Sheffield All Saints 
			 Sheffield Bents Green 
			 Sheffield Chaucer Business and Enterprise College 
			 Sheffield Ecclesfield 
			 Sheffield Fir Vale 
			 Sheffield Firth Park 
			 Sheffield Forge Valley High 
			 Sheffield Heritage Park 
			 Sheffield High Storrs School 
			 Sheffield Hinde House 
			 Sheffield Holgate Meadows 
			 Sheffield King Ecgburt 
			 Sheffield KS3 PLC 
			 Sheffield KS4 PLC 
			 Sheffield Newfield 
			 Sheffield Silverdale 
			 Sheffield Talbot 
			 Sheffield Tapton 
			 Sheffield Yewlands 
			 Solihull Lanchester 
			 Solihull Park Hall 
			 Solihull SCIL (Merstone + Forest Oak) 
			 Solihull Smith's Wood Sports College 
			 Solihull The Archbishop Grimshaw (RC) 
			 Southwark St Michaels 
			 Southwark Tuke 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead (STaG) Bamburgh School 
			 STaG Boldon School 
			 STaG Harton Technology College 
			 STaG Heworth Grange 
			 STaG Jarrow School 
			 STaG Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School 
			 STaG Lord Lawson Of Beamish Community School 
			 STaG Mortimer School 
			 STaG South Shields Community School. 
			 STaG St. Josephs RC School 
			 STaG St. Wilfrids RC School 
			 STaG Thomas Hepburn 
			 Stoke Birches Head 
			 Stoke Sandon High 
			 Sunderland Academy 360 
			 Sunderland Biddick 
			 Sunderland Castle View Academy 
			 Sunderland Hylton Red House Academy 
			 Sunderland Oxclose 
			 Sunderland St. Robert of Newminster RC 
			 Sunderland Washington 
			 Tameside Alder 
			 Tameside Ashton Academy 
			 Tameside Mossley Hollins 
			 Tameside New Charter Academy 
			 Tameside Sam Laycock 
			 Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green 
			 Tower Hamlets Morpeth 
			 Tower Hamlets St. Paul's Way Community School 
			 Tower Hamlets Wessex 
			 Waltham Forest Bremer School 
			 Waltham Forest Kelmscott 
			 Waltham Forest Queens Road Primary 
			 Waltham Forest Waltham Forest Girls 
			 Westminster Grey Coat Hospital School 
			 Westminster Pimlico School 
			 Westminster St. Augustine High CE 
			 Westminster St. Georges RC 
			 Westminster St. Marylebone School 
			 Westminster Westminster City Boys School 
			 Barnet East Barnet School 
			 Bath and North East Somerset Writhlington School 
			 Bracknell Forest Garth Hill College 
			 Buckinghamshire Cressex Community School 
			 Cornwall Penryn College 
			 Derby Sinfin Community School 
			 Devon Bideford College 
			 Dorset Elizabeth's CE VC School 
			 Durham Durham Johnstone 
			 East Sussex Bexhill High School 
			 Gloucestershire Rednock School 
			 Greenwich Charlton 
			 Harrow Whitmore High School 
			 Herefordshire The Minster College 
			 Kingston upon Thames Chessington Community College 
			 Leicestershire Melton John Fernley High 
			 Leicestershire Melton Post 16 Centre 
			 Lewisham Forest Hill 
			 Lewisham Greenvale 
			 Manchester Wright Robinson 
			 Newcastle Benfield 
			 North Somerset Nailsea Community School 
			 North Yorkshire Richmond School 
			 Plymouth Estover Community College 
			 Redbridge Loxford School of Science and Technology 
			 Richmond Upon Thames Teddington School 
			 Rutland Vale of Catmose College 
			 Sefton Litherland High School 
			 Shropshire William Brookes School 
			 South Gloucestershire Filton High School 
			 Southend on Sea Belfairs High School 
			 St Helens Cowley Language college 
			 Sutton Stanley Park High School 
			 Torbay Torquay Community College 
			 Warrington Culcheth High School 
			 West Berkshire St. Bartholomew's School 
			 West Sussex Bognor Regis Community College 
			 Wigan Abraham Guest High School 
			 Wiltshire Melksham Oak School (new school-name was George Ward) 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead Holyport Manor Special School 
			 Wirral Woodchurch High School 
			 Wokingham Waingels College 
			 York Joseph Rowntree School

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with Birmingham city council on its prioritisation and phasing of schools projects under the Building Schools for the Future programme;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with Birmingham city council on future Building Schools for the Future projects in Birmingham;
	(3)  how many schools in Birmingham are  (a) being and  (b) planned to be redeveloped as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme;
	(4)  how much funding he has allocated to Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects in Birmingham for  (a) active projects and  (b) follow-on projects in each wave of that programme; and whether there has been any change to (i) agreed and (ii) projected funding arrangements for BSF projects in Birmingham.

Vernon Coaker: Partnerships for Schools (PfS), as the delivery agent for Building Schools for the Future (BSF), is responsible for discussions with local authorities about prioritising and phasing of schools in the programme. Birmingham is in Waves 2 and 5 of the BSF programme and discussions with the city council have reached the following stages:
	The Wave 2 Strategic Business Case and Outline Business Case (OBC) identify the prioritisation and phasing of schools in the first phase that are now either in construction or being developed.
	The Wave 5 Strategy for Change and OBC, which will establish the prioritisation and phasing of the second phase, is currently being completed by the local authority.
	PfS is currently evaluating the authority's Readiness to Deliver (RtD) proposal for Phase 3.
	The local authority's Academy programme is in development.
	10 schools are being redeveloped and 20 are planned to be redeveloped as part of the BSF programme.
	When an OBC for a wave of a local authority's BSF project is agreed, the funding is fixed for the first group of prioritised schools in the wave. However, as each subsequent group of schools in the wave is brought forward the funding is adjusted for changes in construction inflation and location factors. As such, all funding after the first group of schools in the wave is indicative until the respective stage submission is approved. The current funding forecasts for Birmingham's BSF projects are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million  
			   PFI credits  Capital grant  Funding status 
			 Active Wave 2 schools 78.77 18.33 Fixed 
			 Remaining Wave 2 schools 27 80 Indicative 
		
	
	Funding of circa £160 million of capital grant for eight academies is currently in the process of being approved. This funding is not included above.
	Funding allocations for Wave 5 will be determined in its OBC. Allocations for the remaining schools within Birmingham will be agreed when the projects come into the programme. The authority has submitted RtD proposals for Phase 3 within the £100 million scope required by PfS.

Children: Deaths

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the change was in the number of notifications to Ofsted of deaths of  (a) children and  (b) children under the age of one year following a serious incident between 2008 and 2009; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for that change.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on the number of notifications of deaths of children following a serious incident is a matter for Ofsted. Ofsted has disclosed the information requested in reply to a request under Freedom of Information Act from the hon. Gentleman.
	Serious incidents are notified to Ofsted straight away where a child has died and where abuse or neglect are known or suspected to be a factor in the death. But further investigation may indicate that the death was due to other causes.
	Government Offices have been working closely with Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) to help ensure that procedures relating to child deaths are fully observed. A higher number of notifications could be due in part to an increased awareness of the procedures that need to be followed, including the notification to Ofsted of serious incidents.
	Every single death of a child is an absolute tragedy, whether as a result of abuse or neglect or not. We must continue to do everything we can to protect children from those who seek to harm them. This is why we commissioned Lord Laming to carry out a report of safeguarding progress nationally. Lord Laming's report confirmed that robust legislative, structural and policy foundations are in place. We accepted and are implementing all 58 of his recommendations.
	It is also the case that we are the first country in the world to implement a statutory multi-agency child death reviewing system to collect, analyse and act upon information about every child's death.

Citizenship: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point have received lessons in citizenship since that subject was made part of the national curriculum.

Diana Johnson: We do not collect local data and cannot say how many young people have received lessons on citizenship in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point since it became a compulsory subject in 2002.

Departmental Consultants

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  whether consultants have been contracted to carry out public participation activity on behalf of his Department in the last three years;
	(2)  whether his Department has contracted consultants to carry out public participation activity on behalf of his Department since 2007.

Diana Johnson: The requested information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Correspondence

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to how many  (a) emails and  (b) letters from members of the public his Department has responded since May 2007.

Diana Johnson: The Department was established on 28 June 2007. From 1 July 2007 until 31 December 2009 we have responded to 108,901 items of correspondence from members of the public. The Department does not record the information by correspondence method and therefore cannot break the figure down into e-mails and letters.

Departmental Energy

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the estimated  (a) amount and  (b) cost was of energy used in his Department in each year since 1997; what proportion of the energy used was generated from renewable sources in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was formed via a machinery of government change in June 2007 therefore a complete response to the question above can be provided only for financial years 2007/08, 2008/09.
	In 2007/08 the Department consumed 23,763,917 kilowatt hours of energy (gas, electricity and steam) at a cost of £1,489,366 at the four HQ sites in London, Darlington, Sheffield and Runcorn.
	In 2008/09 the Department consumed 21,286,750 kilowatt hours of energy (gas, electricity and steam) at a cost of £1,683,021 at the four HQ sites in London, Darlington, Sheffield and Runcorn.
	While a green energy tariff is in place for Darlington electricity it is not possible to determine the level of energy generated from renewables sources for each of these years.

Departmental Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost to his Department of funding  (a) Post-graduate Certificate in Education and  (b) undergraduate Bachelor of Education courses (i) was in each of the last three years and (ii) will be in 2010-11.

Vernon Coaker: The figures contained in the following table show the mainstream funding amounts the Training and Development Agency for Schools has paid to teacher training providers for postgraduate and undergraduate courses of initial teacher training (ITT) for academic years 2007/08 to 2009/10. The breakdown of funding between postgraduate and Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses and Bachelor of Education and other undergraduate courses is not available. Figures for 2010/11 are not yet available.
	
		
			  £ 
			  ITT funding  Postgraduate  Undergraduate  Total 
			 2007/08 142,547,155 110,404,248 252,951,403 
			 2008/09 148,511,550 111,698,185 260,209,735 
			 2009/10 150,613,580 107,637,420 258,251,000 
			  Notes: 1. The above figures do not take account of funding adjustments (holdback) which have been made subsequently for under- and over recruitment to courses. 2. These figures do not include recruitment premiums, student bursaries and other incentives, capital support or development funding.

Departmental Information Officers

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many communications or press officers his Department employs.

Diana Johnson: The Department's human resources systems holds information on individuals by their generalist civil service grade and therefore it is not possible to identify everybody engaged in communications work in the department, and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Consultation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation events and  (c) focus groups in each of the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The requested information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Consultation

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation road shows and  (c) focus groups in each of the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The requested information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's document entitled Social Mobility: Narrowing Social Class Educational Attainment Gaps published on 26 April 2006.

Diana Johnson: A copy of the document entitled "Social Mobility: Narrowing Social Class Educational Attainment Gaps," dated 26 April 2006, has been placed in the Library.

Disadvantaged

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schemes aimed at  (a) improving parenting skills,  (b) supporting dysfunctional families and  (c) providing diversionary activities for young people at risk of offending his Department and its predecessors have introduced since 1997; how much has been spent on each; and whether any ring-fenced funding has been provided to local authorities to finance such schemes.

Dawn Primarolo: Between April 1997 and March 2009, we have identified 13 key policies that contribute to:  (a) improving parenting skills,  (b) supporting dysfunctional families and  (c) providing diversionary activities for young people at risk of offending. This consists of £168 million on schemes that are aimed at improving parenting skills, £34 million supporting dysfunctional families and £439 million providing diversionary activities for young people at risk of offending. Of this, £164 million has been ring fenced funding.
	In addition to this, Sure Start has a total spend to date of £4,808 million and would contribute to both part  (a) and  (b) respectively. This funding is also ring fenced.

Free School Meals: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of students in Leeds North West constituency was eligible to receive free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary( 1)  and state funded secondary( 1, 2)  schools: Number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3)  as at January 2009 
			   Leeds North West constituency 
			   Number of pupils( 4)  Number of pupils eligible for FSM  Percentage of pupils eligible for FSM 
			 Nursery and primary schools(1) 4,620 520 11.3 
			 State funded secondary schools(1, 2) 5,200 660 12.7 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Those eligible may choose not to take up their offer of a free school meal for various reasons e.g. through preference or through non-attendance on the day. Pupils are counted as eligible only if they meet the eligibility criteria and make a claim. (4) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10  Source: School Census

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students resident in  (a) Knowsley,  (b) Kensington and Chelsea and  (c) Islington sat an A level in (i) mathematics, (ii) further mathematics, (iii) physics, (iv) English literature, (v) history, (vi) a modern language and (vii) chemistry in (A) 1997 and (B) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is shown in the following table for 2003/04 and 2008/09. Subject information based on pupil residency is available only from 2003/04 onwards.
	
		
			  Students in maintained schools( 1)  sitting A level subjects in 2003/04( 2)  and 2008/09( 3)  by local authority of pupil residence 
			  Number 
			Islington  Kensington and Chelsea  Knowsley 
			 Mathematics 2003/04 45 24 34 
			  2008/09 60 49 45 
			  
			 Further Mathematics 2003/04 3 (4)- 5 
			  2008/09 6 9 (4)- 
			  
			 Physics 2003/04 19 15 18 
			  2008/09 14 13 19 
			  
			 English Literature 2003/04 107 39 52 
			  2008/09 112 43 40 
			  
			 History 2003/04 81 20 41 
			  2008/09 99 26 32 
			  
			 Modern Language 2003/04 38 26 14 
			  2008/09 39 26 19 
			  
			 Chemistry 2003/04 35 13 27 
			  2008/09 45 25 25 
			 (1) Includes pupils attending all maintained schools (including academies and city technology colleges) . (2) Based on final data.  (3) Based on revised data.  (4) Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality.   Source:  National Pupil Database.

GCSE: Gifted Children

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils with gifted and talented status achieved  (a) three As at A-level,  (b) five GCSEs including English and mathematics at grades A* to C excluding equivalents and  (c) at least one GCSE pass at grade C or above, excluding equivalents in (i) 1997, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2006 and (iv) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested for the academic years 2005/06 and 2008/09 is in the following tables. Data on gifted and talented pupils were not collected before the 2005/06 academic year.
	
		
			  GCSE achievements of gifted and talented pupils( 1, 2 ) at the end of key stage 4, 2005/06 and 2008/09 
			   2005/06  2008/09 
			 Number of gifted and talented pupils(1, 2 )at the end of key stage 4 63,819 93,100 
			 Number of gifted and talented pupils(1, 2 )who achieved five or more GCSEs including English and mathematics at grade A*-C excluding equivalents 53,570 81,143 
			 Percentage of gifted and talented pupils(1, 2 )who achieved five or more GCSEs including English and mathematics at grade A*-C excluding equivalents 83.9 87.2 
			 Number of gifted and talented pupils(1, 2 )who achieved at least one GCSE pass at grade C or above excluding equivalents 62,454 91,611 
			 Percentage of gifted and talented pupils(1, 2 )who achieved at least one GCSE pass at grade C or above excluding equivalents 97.9 98.4 
			 (1) Pupils attending maintained schools only including city technology colleges and academies.  (2) The question on the school census does not differentiate between gifted pupils and talented pupils.   Source:  National Pupil Database (2005/06 final data, 2008/09 revised data). 
		
	
	
		
			  A level achievements of gifted and talented students( 1, 2, 3) , 2005/06 and 2008/09 
			   2005/06  2008/09 
			 Number of gifted and talented students(1, 2, 3) 10,683 31,469 
			 Number of gifted and talented students(1, 2, 3 )who achieved three grade As at A level(4) 3,152 8,136 
			 Percentage of gifted and talented students(1, 2, 3 )who achieved three grade As at A level(4) 29.5 25.9 
			 (1) Students attending maintained schools only including city technology colleges and academies. (2) 16 to 18-year-old candidates entered for GCE/Applied GCE A levels and Double Awards in 2008/09 and GCE/VCE A level and VCE Double Awards in 2005/06. (3) The question on the school census does not differentiate between gifted students and talented students. (4 )Includes GCE/Applied GCE A level and Double Awards in 2008/09 and GCE/VCE A level and VCE Double Awards in 2005/06.  Source: National Pupil Database (2005/06 final data, 2008/09 revised data).

Home Education: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the number of home educators in  (a) Gloucestershire and  (b) Stroud constituency; and what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of their regulation should the recommendation of the Badman review of secondary education be accepted.

Diana Johnson: Gloucestershire local authority (LA) provided us with information about the number of children in its area, which includes Stroud, who were known by the LA to be home-educated in May 2009 (254) and again in September 2009 (224). This data has been used to inform Graham Badman's Review of "Elective Home Education England". We have not collected data below local authority level.
	There may be other home-educated children in the Gloucestershire LA area of which the local authority is not aware because there is no current requirement for local authorities to keep a register of home-educated children.
	We estimate that the cost of the registration and monitoring proposals for home-educated children will be around £26.3 million in the first year and £14.6 million in subsequent years, based on 20,000 home-educated children. We do not have figures available yet for allocations below national level. We will develop detailed funding methodologies for local authority allocations after discussion with the Local Government Association and local authorities.

National Curriculum Tests

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children achieved at least level 2b in each subject at Key Stage 1 in each year since such assessments were introduced.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 22 February 2010
	The information has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Pupils Per Capita Costs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each London borough have received in funding per student in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Per pupil revenue funding figures for primary school pupils (ages three to 10) for each London borough between 2004-05 and 2005-06 are shown in Table 1. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 1: Real terms revenue funding per pupil-SSA/ EFS plus grants 
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 Camden 5,860 6,100 
			 Greenwich 5,210 5,570 
			 Hackney 5,970 6,380 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,700 5,940 
			 Islington 5,760 6,120 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5,910 6,090 
			 Lambeth 5,830 6,110 
			 Lewisham 5,350 5,710 
			 Southwark 5,430 5,880 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,110 6,570 
			 Wandsworth 5,040 5,410 
			 Westminster 5,560 5,840 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,410 4,610 
			 Barnet 4,200 4,520 
			 Bexley 3,810 4,000 
			 Brent 4,850 5,160 
			 Bromley 3,810 4,040 
			 Croydon 4,140 4,350 
			 Ealing 4,640 4,990 
			 Enfield 4,370 4,570 
			 Haringey 5,100 5,340 
			 Harrow 4,220 4,500 
			 Havering 3,770 3,970 
			 Hillingdon 4,110 4,400 
			 Hounslow 4,540 4,850 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,840 4,140 
			 Merton 4,220 4,510 
			 Newham 5,030 5,310 
			 Redbridge 4,070 4,300 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3,810 4,060 
			 Sutton 3,910 4,100 
			 Waltham Forest 4,660 4,850 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged three to 10 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DFES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 
		
	
	Per pupil revenue funding figures for secondary school pupils (ages 11 to 15) for each London borough between 2004-05 and 2005-06 are shown in Table 2. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 2: Real terms revenue funding per pupil-SSA/EFS plus grants 
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 Camden 7,200 7,340 
			 Greenwich 6,600 6,970 
			 Hackney 7,990 8,320 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 7,240 7,310 
			 Islington 7,440 7,800 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 7,660 7,760 
			 Lambeth 7,920 8,180 
			 Lewisham 7,100 7,490 
			 Southwark. 7,600 7,820 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,600 7,930 
			 Wandsworth 6,600 6,850 
			 Westminster 6,850 6,950 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,540 5,690 
			 Barnet 5,180 5,510 
			 Bexley 4,800 4,960 
			 Brent 6,220 6,510 
			 Bromley 4,910 5,050 
			 Croydon 5,410 5,620 
			 Ealing 5,950 6,280 
			 Enfield 5,410 5,590 
			 Haringey 6,790 6,790 
			 Harrow 5,300 5,480 
			 Havering 4,850 5,020 
			 Hillingdon 5,120 5,420 
			 Hounslow 5,590 5,870 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,880 5,120 
			 Merton 5,320 5,590 
			 Newham 6,200 6,420 
			 Redbridge 4,970 5,140 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,920 5,100 
			 Sutton 4,890 5,020 
			 Waltham Forest 5,960 6,130 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-block-s of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3 to 10 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DFES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-7 to 2008-9, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 
		
	
	The revenue per pupil figures shown in Table 3 are taken from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). They are not comparable with those for the years 2004-05 to 2005-06 (in Tables 1 and 2 above) because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded.
	The 2004-05 to 2005-06 figures are based on Education Formula Spending (EFS) which formed the education part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. The DSG is based largely on an authority's previous spending. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department's time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
	To provide a comparison for 2008-09 DSG, the Department have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06 (the baseline); as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year.
	Per pupil revenue funding figures for pupils (ages 3-15)for each London borough between 2005-06 and 2008-09 are shown in Table 3. As the DSG is a mechanism for distributing funding, a split between primary and secondary schools is not available. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 3: Real terms revenue funding per pupil-DSG plus grants 
			   2005-06 (baseline)  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Camden 6,570 6,690 6,900 6,910 
			 Greenwich 5,660 5,920 6,130 6,260 
			 Hackney 6,510 6,910 7,070 7,250 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 6,050 6,330 6,540 6,490 
			 Islington 6,140 6,430 6,700 6,660 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6,420 6,480 6,610 6,530 
			 Lambeth 6,180 6,390 6,620 6,780 
			 Lewisham 5,910 6,130 6,300 6,330 
			 Southwark 5,990 6,440 6,640 6,650 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,680 7,010 7,270 7,350 
			 Wandsworth 5,430 5,650 5,880 5,980 
			 Westminster 5,540 6,040 6,310 6,260 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,960 4,960 5,240 5,270 
			 Barnet 4,810 4,980 5,130 5,200 
			 Bexley 4,400 4,510 4,660 4,730 
			 Brent 5,210 5,340 5,590 5,700 
			 Bromley 4,240 4,350 4,510 4,590 
			 Croydon 4,480 4,650 4,850 4,910 
			 Ealing 5,200 5,350 5,540 5,620 
			 Enfield 4,770 4,910 5,070 5,100 
			 Haringey 5,560 5,640 5,850 5,940 
			 Harrow 4,590 4,800 4,970 5,170 
			 Havering 4,360 4,450 4,600 4,670 
			 Hillingdon 4,610 4,790 4,930 4,990 
			 Hounslow 5,010 5,180 5,340 5,380 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,560 4,670 4,790 4,850 
			 Merton 4,550 4,810 4,960 5,010 
			 Newham 5,360 5,640 5,870 5,970 
			 Redbridge 4,400 4,580 4,760 4,820 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,440 4,550 4,690 4,750 
			 Sutton 4,490 4,590 4,740 4,810 
			 Waltham Forest 4,970 5,170 5,330 5,330 
			  Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation), and Standards Fund as well as funding from the-Learning and Skills Council; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 3. These figures are for all funded pupils aged 3 to 15. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. 5. Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal.

School Choice: Advisory Services

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's evaluation of the Choice Advice service.

Diana Johnson: The Department commissioned Sheffield Hallam university to carry out an evaluation of the independent Choice Advice Service in a small sample of local authorities. The evaluation was published on 27 November 2008 and is available electronically at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectid=15471&resultspage=1
	A hard copy is also available in the House of Commons Library.

Schools

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils are receiving one-to-one or small group tuition in  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools; and how many pupils he expects to receive such tuition in each such case in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Diana Johnson: As part of the one-to-one tuition programme, funding is available to primary schools to provide approximately 150,000 courses of tuition in 2009-10, and approximately 335,000 courses of tuition in 2010-11 in key stage 2. In addition to this, the Every Child Counts and Every Child a Reader programmes in key stage 1 and the Every Child a Writer programme at key stage 2 will provide approximately 43,000 children with one-to-one tuition in 2009-10, and 87,000 with one-to-one tuition in 2010-11.
	Funding for secondary schools from the one-to-one tuition programme is available to provide approximately 140,000 courses of tuition in 2009-10, and approximately 290,000 courses of tuition in 2010-11.
	No decisions on funding for the one-to-one tuition programme or the Every Child programmes have been taken for 2011-12.
	Schools received a personalisation budget of £1.6 billion for the three year period of this comprehensive spending review, and this funding can be used to provide further small group support. The Department does not collect data on the number of pupils receiving this type of support.

Schools: Asbestos

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what training is provided to teachers on asbestos management and safety; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such provision.

Diana Johnson: holding answer 24 February 2010
	 We have made a commitment to improve the training provided to head teachers and school business managers on asbestos management, and Partnerships for Schools will be working with HSE to produce training materials. These will be signposted in courses run by the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services for new head teachers and school business managers. This work will assist them to understand and implement their role in relation to asbestos management during building work, repairs, maintenance and day-to-day operation of schools.
	It is not the role of classroom teachers to monitor, manage or to be accountable for the presence of asbestos in schools. Responsibility for this resides with local authorities and/or governing bodies in ensuring that schools are safe for pupils and staff. Consequently, initial teacher training does not address this topic. While there are Qualified Teacher Status standards relating to health and safety issues and the establishment of safe learning environments, training in relation to these standards will be teaching and learning focused, and not related to issues concerning the construction of the building in which that learning takes place.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many assaults were officially recorded where the incident took place on school premises in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2005 and  (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Data on assaults in schools is not collected at a national level.

Schools: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent per pupil on schools in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Castle Point constituency is not available. In addition it is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally. The per pupil revenue funding figures for schools in England and Essex local authority since 1997 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  School based expenditure per pupil from 1997-98 to 2008-09 
			England  Pre LGR Essex  Essex 
			 1997-98 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,740 1,740 - 
			  Secondary Education 2,360 2,580 - 
			  Special Schools 9,830 8,730 - 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,080 2,020 - 
			 1998-99 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,870 - 1,950 
			  Secondary Education 2,450 - 2,690 
			  Special Schools 10,110 - 9,590 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,190 - 2,230 
			 1999-2000 Primary Education 2,010 - 1,970 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,050 - 1,970 
			  Secondary Education 2,610 - 2,730 
			  Special Schools 10,900 - 9,550 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,390 - 2,370 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,370 - 2,370 
			 2000-01 Primary Education 2,210 - 2,240 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,280 - 2,250 
			  Secondary Education 2,830 - 2,860 
			  Special Schools 11,860 - 10,300 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,620 - 2,590 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,590 - 2,590 
			 2001-02 Primary Education 2,480 - 2,460 
			  Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,570 - 2,480 
			  Secondary Education 3,150 - 3,190 
			  Special Schools 13,030 - 11,330 
			  Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,940 - 2,880 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,900 - 2,870 
			 2002-03 Primary Education 2,530 - 2,570 
			  Secondary Education 3,230 - 3,270 
			  Special Schools 12,820 - 11,780 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,950 - 2,960 
			 2003-04 Primary Education 2,750 - 2,750 
			  Secondary Education 3,550 - 3,560 
			  Special Schools 14,050 - 12,720 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,230 - 3,200 
			 2004-05 Primary Education 2,910 - 2,900 
			  Secondary Education 3,800 - 3,780 
			  Special Schools 15,110 - 13,200 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,450 - 3,390 
			 2005-06 Primary Education 3,150 - 3,120 
			  Secondary Education 4,070 - 4,010 
			  Special Schools 16,430 - 14,280 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,720 - 3,630 
			 2006-07 Primary Education 3,360 - 3,250 
			  Secondary Education 4,320 - 4,260 
			  Special Schools 17,480 - 14,530 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,950 - 3,820 
			 2007-08 Primary Education 3,580 - 3,440 
			  Secondary Education 4,620 - 4,550 
			  Special Schools 18,650 - 15,440 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,210 - 4,070 
			 2008-09 Primary Education 3,780 - 3,630 
			  Secondary Education 4,890 - 4,780 
			  Special Schools 19,790 - 16,860 
			  Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,460 - 4,280 
			  Notes: 1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department's s52 data collection. 2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the ROI form collected by CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by dotted lines. 3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Local government reorganisation (LGR) took place during the mid to late 1990's. 5. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 for financial year 1999-2000. 6. School based expenditure in LA maintained nursery schools was not recorded in 2002-03 and comparable figures are not available for 2003-04 onwards. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 22 February 2010.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to publish the report commissioned by his Department in 2008 on the Dedicated Schools Grant; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government launched a review of the Dedicated Schools Grant in January 2008 and it is now nearing its conclusion. We expect to issue a consultation on the way forward shortly.

Schools: Fires

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of new schools not required to fit sprinklers.

Vernon Coaker: It is good practice and our expectation that the majority of new schools will include sprinkler systems. Currently over 70 per cent. of new secondary schools and academies procured under Partnerships for Schools arrangements include sprinklers. It is not however a legal requirement for schools to be fitted with sprinkler systems and we do not hold information on the number of new schools not fitted with sprinklers.

Schools: Fires

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations his Department has received on mandatory installation of fire sprinklers in new schools.

Vernon Coaker: On 19 May 2009, my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) led an adjournment debate on fire safety in schools at which this issue was discussed. I subsequently met my hon. Friend and colleagues on 22 October. We have also received representations from the Chief Fire Officers Association and the National Fire Sprinkler Network; and parliamentary questions have been asked in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
	Our policy remains that introduced by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), when he was Schools Minister. In March 2007 he announced the Government's policy on sprinklers and their value as a measure against arson by saying:
	"It is now our expectation that all new schools will have fire sprinklers installed. However, we do not intend to make this a compulsory measure. There may be a few cases where local authorities or other promoters of schools consider that sprinklers are not needed. If so, they will need to be able to demonstrate that such schools are low risk and that sprinklers would not represent good value for money."

Schools: Offensive Weapons

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many incidents of pupils carrying a dangerous weapon into school were reported in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2005 and  (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

Diana Johnson: Data on the number of incidents of pupils carrying a dangerous weapon into school are not collected at a national level.

Schools: Snow and Ice

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make an assessment of the extent to which anxiety about liability for slipping injuries influenced decisions on school closures during the recent severe weather episode.

Diana Johnson: The Government do not collect data on the reasons for which schools close during severe weather, and there is no duty on schools to advise the Government why they closed.
	The Department's guidance to schools about planning for, and responding to severe weather urges them to take a proportionate approach, balancing any risks arising from less supervision and minor slips and bumps against disruption to pupils' learning.

Schools: Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools were rated good with outstanding features at the most recent point for which inspection data is available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 24 February 2010
	 This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 22 February 2010:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Ofsted's rating system is based on only four judgements for overall effectiveness where 1 is outstanding; 2 is good; 3 is satisfactory; and 4 is inadequate, Schools are not rated good with outstanding features. Some inspectors might use this phrase in the text of their reports; we do not hold figures for this.
	Consequently, this response considers maintained schools which were judged as good for overall effectiveness at their last inspection and where at least one of the other judgements made was outstanding.
	The latest period for which published figures about maintained school section 5 inspection outcomes are available is the academic year 2008/09. This answer, therefore, takes into account inspections carried out prior to 1 September 2009.
	At 1 December 2009 there were 22,260 schools open and eligible for a section 5 Ofsted inspection. Of these, 21,920 had received at least one section 5 inspection. These schools, together with their latest inspection judgements, form the basis for the response.
	Of the 21,920 schools, 11,033 (50%) were judged as good for overall effectiveness at the last inspection. Of these, 8,704 (79%) received at least one judgement of outstanding.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and placed in the library of both Houses.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his assessment is of the effectiveness of careers services offered in schools; what recent steps he has taken to improve them; and how much has been spent on them in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: holding answer 24 February 2010
	The best schools, working in partnership with local authority services, provide excellent support for their pupils to help them to make decisions about learning and careers but the quality across all schools is variable. We published our strategy to improve information, advice and guidance (Quality, Choice and Aspiration) in October 2009. Alongside the strategy we published statutory guidance for schools, setting out clear expectations for the provision of high quality impartial information about learning options, which promotes the best interests of pupils.
	The way that provision of careers services has been funded has changed in the period since 1997, with the establishment of the Connexions service and, more recently, local authorities assuming responsibility for the provision of information, advice and guidance. Funding has been provided to Connexions/Careers Services as set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Funding (£ million)  To : 
			 1997-98 192 (1)Careers services 
			 1998-99 210 Careers Services 
			 1999-00 223 Careers Services 
			 2000-01 233 Careers Services 
			 2001-02 110 (2)Connexions 
			  173 Careers Services 
			 2002-03 337 Connexions 
			  52 Careers Services 
			 2003-04 439 Connexions 
			 2004-05 458 Connexions 
			 2005-06 464 Connexions 
			 2006-07 466 Connexions 
			 2007-08 467 Connexions 
			 2008-09 469 (3)Connexions 
			 2009-10 467 Connexions 
			 (1) Prior to 2001, Careers Services provided advice and guidance on careers and related issues (2) From April 2001 Connexions was introduced in a staged way and the Department provided funding to Connexions Partnerships for the delivery of Connexions services for young people. (3) From April 2008 local authorities have received funding for Connexions services, which advise young people on a range of issues including careers, as part of their Area Based Grant.

Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, column 610W, on secondary education, how many schools in each  (a) region and  (b) local authority area there were in each category in each year.

Diana Johnson: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The answer to this question has been placed in the Library.

Secondary Education: Pupil Numbers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, column 610W, on secondary education, how many such schools there were in each local authority area in each year.

Diana Johnson: holding answer 24 February 2010
	 The answer to this question has been placed in the Library.

Teachers: Pay

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average salary of a teacher in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England was in the latest year for which information is available.

Vernon Coaker: The following table shows the average salary of regular qualified teachers in service in local authority maintained schools in Blackpool and Lancashire local authorities and England, March 2008 the latest information available.
	
		
			  Average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in local authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units, January 2008( 1)  Coverage: Blackpool and Lancashire local authorities and England 
			   Average salary (£) 
			 Blackpool 35,100 
			 Lancashire 35,800 
			 England 35,900 
			 (1) Provisional.  Source: Database of Teacher Records Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.

Truancy: Salford

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the unauthorised absence rate was for pupils in Salford in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The available information is shown in the table for 1996/97 and 2007/08. Information for 2008/09 is expected to be published in spring 2010.
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3) , p ercentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence 1996/97 and 2007/08( 4) -Salford parliamentary constituency 
			   Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence( 5) 
			 1996/97 2.02 
			   
			 2007/08 2.17 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Figures for 1996/97 have been sourced from the Absence in Schools Survey. Figures for 2007/08 are derived from the School Census. (5) The number of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions.  Source: Absence in Schools Survey and School Census (see note 4).

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2010,  Official Report, column 650W, on Education Maintenance Allowance and the answer from the Minister for Further Education, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, column 987W, on the Learning and Skills Council for England's correspondence, if he will review his Department's processes to ensure that all letters from the Learning and Skills Council in response to Parliamentary Questions are sent to the Editor of the  Official Report for publication.

Iain Wright: I have reviewed the process for responses to parliamentary questions with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Service standards have been agreed between my Department and the LSC, setting out that responses should be sent to the Editor of the  Official Report within 10 working days of receipt.